BSB Criminal Litigation case studies
BSB Criminal Litigation · Put your knowledge to work in context.
This page introduces an independent study resource for the criminal litigation component of the Bar Standards Board's centralised examinations, taken by students on the vocational stage of Bar training in England and Wales. The assessment is multiple choice and tests the working knowledge an aspiring barrister needs before appearing in the magistrates' court, the Crown Court and the youth court. Coverage follows the seven areas that make up the syllabus: preliminaries to prosecution and investigation; bail, remands and custody; disclosure and unused material; summary trial and allocation procedure; evidence and the exclusion of evidence; sentencing principles and procedure; and appeals and post-conviction review. Questions are framed as short professional scenarios, so the skill being tested is application - identifying the correct procedural step and the rule that supports it - rather than recall of definitions. The BSB Criminal Litigation case studies are 5 cases and about 2,038 words.
1Juvenile interview without solicitor or appropriate adult
On 3 March at 23:40, police arrest 17-year-old D for robbing a convenience store. At the station, D asks for a solicitor.
476 words, about 2 min2Bail application with surety and protective conditions
D is 34 and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his ex-partner. The complainant says D threatened to kill her and grabbed her throat.
417 words, about 2 min3Third-party social services records and specific disclosure
D is charged with sexual assault of a 15-year-old complainant. The prosecution serves an unused material schedule but redacts social services records showing the complainant made two earlier complaints of assault against different men, both withdrawn.
374 words, about 2 min4Weak identification from an unfair photo array
D is charged with robbery. The victim saw the attacker for about 10 seconds under a streetlight from 5 metres.
369 words, about 2 min5Fresh evidence and an appeal out of time
D was convicted of fraud after a Crown Court trial. The prosecution case relied on the company's accounting records and the evidence of the finance director.
402 words, about 2 min