Law & Citizenship · Unit 4
Police, Courts and Judges
Who enforces the law and who decides cases
The legal system separates the people who investigate, the people who argue, and the person who decides, and that separation is deliberate rather than bureaucratic.
The unit covers what police do and do not do, courts, judges, lawyers on both sides, and juries - ordinary people brought in specifically because they are not part of the system.
This unit breaks down into 18 short steps and 109 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 18
- Questions
- 109
- Difficulty
- 1-3
What this unit covers
- Juries
- The Police
- Lawyers
- Judges
- Courts
Where this fits
Follows Who Decides? Crime and Punishment continues it.
Where people slip
Police do not decide guilt and judges do not investigate. Each role is limited on purpose, and confusing them is confusing the whole design.
How the unit is structured
Police, Courts and Judges runs as 18 short steps that unlock in order. 13 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 109 in the unit altogether.
Courts
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
1. Who might you find in a courtroom? Pick all that apply.
- A judgecorrect
- Lawyerscorrect
- Witnessescorrect
- A football referee
Judges, lawyers and witnesses are all present.
- Odd one outLevel 1
2. Which of these does NOT happen in a court?
- Passing new lawscorrect
- Hearing evidence
- Reaching a verdict
- Giving a sentence
Passing new laws is a job for parliament.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
3. What happens in a court?
- Both sides are heard and a decision is madecorrect
- Laws are written
- Taxes are collected
- Elections are held
A court hears both sides of a case and decides what should happen.
- Put in orderLevel 2
4. Put these stages of a court case in order.
Answer: Someone is charged -> Evidence is heard -> A decision is reached -> A sentence is given if guilty
Charge, evidence, decision, sentence.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
5. Sort each function by which institution performs it.
Answer: Investigating a crime = Police; Arresting a suspect = Police; Deciding guilt = Courts; Passing sentence = Courts
The branches have separate roles.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
6. Appeal courts normally rehear all the witnesses from the original trial.
Answer: False
False. They usually review the record for legal error rather than retry the facts.
Judges
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
7. Which describe a good judge? Pick all that apply.
- Fair to both sidescorrect
- Independent of governmentcorrect
- Listens carefully to evidencecorrect
- Decides before hearing evidence
Fairness, independence and careful listening all matter.
- Match the pairsLevel 1
8. Match each person to their role in court.
Answer: Judge = Runs the case; Lawyer = Speaks for a side; Witness = Gives evidence; Jury = Decides the verdict
Each role is separate and important.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
9. Why must a judge be impartial?
- Favouring a side would make the decision unfaircorrect
- To keep meetings short
- Because they know nobody
- They need not be
A judge who favoured one side could not decide the case fairly.
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
10. Build a sentence about the judiciary.
Answer: Independent judges decide cases without political pressure
Independent judges decide cases without political pressure.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
11. Judges deciding free from government pressure is called judicial ____.
- independencecorrect
- election
- appointment
- salary
Independence protects impartial decisions.
- Put in orderLevel 3
12. Put these appeal stages in order.
Answer: First instance judgment -> Permission to appeal sought -> Appeal hearing -> Appeal decision -> Precedent set for later cases
Judgment, permission, hearing, decision, precedent.
Juries
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
13. Which are jury duties? Pick all that apply.
- Listening to all the evidencecorrect
- Deciding only on what was heardcorrect
- Keeping discussions privatecorrect
- Searching the internet about the case
Listening carefully, deciding on evidence and keeping deliberations private are all duties.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
14. Why are juries made of ordinary citizens?
- So community judgement is involvedcorrect
- Because they are cheaper
- Because judges are unavailable
- For no reason
So decisions reflect ordinary community judgement, not only officials.
- Type the answerLevel 1
15. What is the decision a jury reaches called?
Answer: verdict
A verdict states guilty or not guilty.
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
16. Build a sentence about juries.
Answer: Jurors decide only on evidence heard in court
Jurors decide only on evidence heard in court.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
17. The decision a jury reaches is called a ____.
- verdictcorrect
- sentence
- charge
- petition
Verdicts state guilty or not guilty.
- True or falseLevel 2
18. Jurors must decide only on the evidence they hear in court.
Answer: True
True. They must not research the case themselves.
Lawyers
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
19. Build a sentence about fair trials.
Answer: Everyone accused deserves a fair trial
Everyone accused deserves a fair trial.
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
20. Which do lawyers do? Pick all that apply.
- Advise on the lawcorrect
- Write legal documentscorrect
- Represent people in courtcorrect
- Sentence offenders
Advising, drafting documents and representing people are all lawyer work.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
21. Why does someone accused of a crime get a lawyer?
- So their side is explained and rights protectedcorrect
- To delay the case
- To prove they are guilty
- They do not get one
So their side is properly explained and their rights protected.
- Type the answerLevel 1
22. What is the person accused of a crime in a trial called?
Answer: defendant
The defendant answers the charge.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
23. A lawyer who defends someone accused of a serious crime approves of that crime.
Answer: False
False. Defending someone ensures the case is properly tested, whatever the lawyer thinks.
- True or falseLevel 2
24. Lawyers must keep what their clients tell them confidential.
Answer: True
True. Confidentiality lets clients speak openly.
The Police
- Picture questionLevel 1
25. 👮 Who wears this and helps keep the public safe?
- A police officercorrect
- A judge
- A teacher
- A shopkeeper
Police officers patrol, investigate and respond to emergencies.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
26. Which do the police do? Pick all that apply.
- Investigate crimescorrect
- Help in emergenciescorrect
- Keep public ordercorrect
- Write new laws
Investigating, keeping order and helping in emergencies are all police work.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
27. The police decide what punishment a guilty person receives.
Answer: False
False. Courts decide punishment, not the police.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
28. Policing that depends on public approval rather than force is policing by ____.
- consentcorrect
- decree
- force
- lottery
Consent underpins legitimacy.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
29. What should you do if you are lost and see a police officer?
- Ask them for helpcorrect
- Run away
- Hide
- Say nothing
Police officers help members of the public who need assistance.
- Put in orderLevel 2
30. Put these stages of a criminal case in order.
Answer: A crime is reported -> Police investigate -> A charge is brought -> The case is tried -> A sentence follows conviction
Report, investigate, charge, trial, sentence.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 12 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Police, Courts and Judges
109 questions across 18 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Police, Courts and Judges
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Is Precedent? How One Judge's Decision Binds the NextIn common-law countries a court must follow the rulings of higher courts in earlier cases, so law is built case by case. What binds, what persuades, and why.September 15, 2026 · 5 min read
- How Do Appeals Work? What a Higher Court Can and Cannot ChangeAn appeal is not a second trial. Which mistakes a higher court will correct, why new evidence is rarely allowed, what the outcomes are.September 14, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Is a Search Warrant? When the State May Enter Your HomeA search warrant is a court's written permission for the police to enter and search a place, given only when a judge is satisfied. The tests, and the exceptions.September 15, 2026 · 5 min read
- What Is Habeas Corpus? The Right to Be Brought Before a JudgeThe centuries-old court order that forces a jailer to justify a detention: where it came from, how it is used today, and when governments have suspended it.September 9, 2026 · 4 min read
More units in Law & Citizenship
- Rules and FairnessWhy rules exist and what makes them fair
- Living in a CommunityNeighbours, services and looking after each other
- Who Decides?Leaders, voting and making choices together
- Rights and FreedomsWhat everyone is entitled to, and why
- How Government WorksParliaments, presidents and the branches of power
- Elections and DemocracyCampaigns, ballots and counting the votes
- Crime and PunishmentWhat counts as a crime and what happens next
- Law in Everyday LifeContracts, consumers, work and the rules around us