Nicola Monaghan
Principal Lecturer in Law
Institute of Arts and Humanities
School of Law
email: n.monaghan@worc.ac.uk
Nicola joined the University of Worcester in 2016. She has been teaching law at Higher Education institutions since 2001 and specialises in Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and the Law of Evidence. Nicola is an unregistered barrister and a member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.
She is the author of two textbooks: Criminal Law Directions (8th edn, Oxford University Press, 2025) and Law of Evidence (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
She edited and contributed to Contemporary Challenges in the Jury System: A Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2024) and co-edited and contributed to Financial Crime and Corporate Misconduct: A Critical Evaluation of Fraud Legislation (Routledge, 2018).
Nicola is the series editor for the book series, Routledge Studies in Courts and Legal Systems.
You can learn more about Nicola's research on her Orchid ID
Qualifications
- PhD (currently studying, due to complete by March 2029)
- Bar Vocational Course (2001, City, University of London)
- LLM Criminal Litigation (2000, City, University of London)
- LLB Law (Hons) (1999, Warwick University)
Teaching Interests
Nicola teaches Criminal Law, Criminal Justice and the Law of Evidence on the LLB. She also supervises dissertations and has previously taught Criminal Law and Practice on the LLM in Legal Practice.
Research Interests
Nicola’s research interests include jury misconduct and the criminal trial and she has published peer-reviewed journal articles in the Criminal Law Review, Journal of Criminal Law, International Journal of Evidence and Proof, and Information and Communications Technology Law. Her work has been cited by academics and by the Law Commission.
Professional Bodies
- Member of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
- Member of the Society of Legal Scholars
- Member of the Socio-Legal Studies Association
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Publications
For a full list of publications, please visit Nicola’s WRAP profile.
Recent research activity:
2026
‘Jurors and the use of extraneous material during deliberations: comparing the issues raised by two recent cases from England and Wales and New South Wales’ [2026] Criminal Law Review (forthcoming - accepted for publication November 2025)
‘A thematic review of appellate jury irregularity cases between 2023 and 2025: recurring jury problems, judicial approaches and “curing” irregularities’, SLSA Annual Conference 2026, University of Sussex, March-April 2026 (forthcoming - abstract accepted)
2025
Criminal Law Directions (8th edn, Oxford University Press, 2025)
‘A fanciful story of jury irregularity: R v Cashman [2024] EWCA Crim 1543’ (2025) Journal of Criminal Law (Online First, citation pending)
‘A sad case of manslaughter: Gross negligence manslaughter where the deceased is engaged in criminal activity and the parties are acting in concert: R v Ibrahima Bah [2024] EWCA Crim 1499’ (2025) 89(3) Journal of Criminal Law 174-179
‘Watson directions R v AZT [2023] EWCA Crim 1531’ (2025) 89(2) Journal of Criminal Law 105-108
‘When Jurors Go Rogue’, Rights and Justice Festival at The Hive, July 2025
2024
N Monaghan (ed), Contemporary Challenges in the Jury System: A Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2024)
‘Challenges facing contemporary jury trial’ in N Monaghan (ed), Contemporary Challenges in the Jury System: A Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2024)
‘Reconsidering the position of jurors with specialist knowledge or expertise’ in N Monaghan (ed), Contemporary Challenges in the Jury System: A Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2024)
‘Sentencing Guidance for Cases of Intentional Strangulation: R v Butler (Geoffrey) [2023] EWCA Crim 800’ (2024) 88(5-6) Journal of Criminal Law 401-404
‘Juries Under the Spotlight’, University of Worcester Academic Blog, February 2024
External Responsibilities
Current external responsibilities:
- Series editor for Routledge Studies in Courts and Legal Systems
- Case note contributor for the Journal of Criminal Law
- External Examiner at Leeds Beckett University (2023 - 2027)
- External Examiner at the University of the West of England, Bristol (2022 - 2026)
Previous external responsibilities:
- Critical Reader for Public Law and Criminal Law module at the Open University (2015)
- External Examiner for LLM for Sunderland University (2009-2013)
- Peer-reviewer for book reviews