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Year 10

Which legal professionals support our rights in criminal courts?

I can explain how legal professionals represent citizens and ensure their legal rights are met.

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New
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Year 10

Which legal professionals support our rights in criminal courts?

I can explain how legal professionals represent citizens and ensure their legal rights are met.

Download all resources
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Share activities with pupils
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These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Judges protect legal rights by applying the law, ensuring fairness and advising on appropriate sentencing.
  2. Legal Executives assist in case prep, ensuring accessibility to legal services in specific law areas.
  3. Solicitors provide legal advice, prepare cases, and represent clients in legal matters.
  4. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, defending clients or prosecuting cases in Crown Court.
  5. Legal professionals uphold our rights, ensuring justice is served through fair legal representation.

Keywords

  • Criminal court - courts that deal with individuals who have been accused of breaking the law

  • Judiciary - the branch of the state responsible for enforcing the law. It is composed of judges and other legal officials

  • Legal executive - legal specialists employed by solicitors who handle case preparation

  • Solicitor - a legal professional who gives advice, prepares cases, and represents clients in magistrates’ courts

  • Barrister - presents cases in crown court and higher courts, representing defendants or the state

Common misconception

That solicitors only work in the community and it is just barristers that work on criminal cases that end up in the court room.

Solicitors prepare the criminal case and advise the defendant prior to the case going to court, they appoint the barristers to represent their client (the defendant) in court.


To help you plan your year 10 citizenship lesson on: Which legal professionals support our rights in criminal courts?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

There are a range of educational and age appropriatte videos readily available online that provide a tour of the crown court. This can be sueful for students as they are then able to visualise the different roles and where they stand.
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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sexual violence
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The legal authority given to police to maintain order, prevent crime and protect the public are known as what?
Correct Answer: Police powers
Q2.
The verb to make sure laws or rules are followed is what?
Endorse
Correct answer: Enforce
Enable
Enhance
Q3.
Police officers follow a code of practice which promotes what type of policing?
controversial
Correct answer: ethical
hypothetical
convictional
Q4.
Match the start of the police role/responsibility to the correct end
Correct Answer:stop and,search
tick

search

Correct Answer:maintaining law and,order
tick

order

Correct Answer:protecting the,public
tick

public

Correct Answer:power to,arrest
tick

arrest

Correct Answer:entry, search and,seizure
tick

seizure

Q5.
What is the legal document the police will use to gain access to a property?
Correct Answer: warrant
Q6.
If a citizen is arrested, they have the right to remain what?
Correct Answer: silent, silence, not speak, not say anything

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In which order would a defendant communicate with these legal professionals?
1 - solicitor
2 - barrister
3 - judge
Q2.
The branch of the state responsible for enforcing the law, composed of judges and other legal officials is the what?
legislature
Correct answer: judiciary
monarch
executive
Q3.
Which is not an example of how judges work to ensure citizens' legal rights are met?
ensuring a fair trial
following sentencing guidelines
supporting the jury
developing common law
Correct answer: Arresting citizens who have broke the law.
Q4.
In a crown court, who decides if the defendant is guilty or not guilty?
Correct Answer: The jury, Jury
Q5.
Who support solicitors and barristers by preparing legal cases?
Correct answer: legal executives
the jury
the judges
the witnesses
Q6.
If a suspect cannot afford a solicitor, or does not have their own solicitor, they can be provided with what?
A police officer to help them.
Correct answer: A duty solicitor to advise them.
An appropriate adult to support them.
A friend to care for them.