The question (13 marks)
A college moot society sets this problem. A firm discovers that a young clerk has altered a cheque in its favour; the partners disagree about whether to prosecute. At the trial the defence pleads that the accused was not himself at the moment of the act; the judge holds that nothing short of insanity will excuse, and refuses to recommend mercy because the accused's motive served a relationship he regards as immoral. In a second matter before the same society, an accused is arrested without a warrant on the complaint of an English girl, bail is refused by a magistrate who is her fiance, and the charge is later withdrawn in the witness box. Identify the questions of principle raised at each stage of the two matters, and show how Galsworthy's Justice and Forster's A Passage to India answer them. (13 marks)
MU Module I, heads 1.1 and 1.3; problem set on Justice and A Passage to India; pack ch. 01.
Plan your answer on paper before you look at the authorities — issue first, then the rule, then apply it to these facts.
It tests Unit 1 · Law and Literature: Texts of English – II.
Authorities you will need
- Justice, Act II: refusal of mercy on a basis inimical to morality; the majestic edifice
How an answer is marked
A full-marks answer names the issue in one line, states the rule with its section, cites the authority, applies it to these facts and concludes — in that order. The app's model answer for this question is written in exactly that shape, with a checklist to mark your own attempt against.