Sentencing: Theory and Practice
Why do we punish people for committing crime? How do we decide what the punishment should be? In this masterclass, you will talk through the main theories of punishment and how they are expressed in law. You will go on to discuss how other jurisdictions have tackled these issues and you will aim to take a view on who (if anyone) has got it right. In the second half of the session, you will look at how sentencing works in practice - what happens at court? The masterclass will end with you taking the Judge’s place and passing sentence on a fictional defendant.
Host: Jessica studied Law at Cambridge University and stayed at Cambridge to complete an LLM specialising in criminal law and legal philosophy. She then took the Bar course and has worked at a number of law firms and Chambers since. For the last two years, she has been Legal Assistant to Michael Wolkind QC, a senior Silk who specialises in criminal defence. She is also a Research Associate at the Sentencing Academy and, over the summer, will be working on a paper that aims to explore the extent to which defendants understand our laws on sentencing.
Duration: Suggested 2 hours, either taken as one session or two 1 hour sessions.
