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Unit 3 Legal > AOS 1 > Flashcards

AOS 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is a summary offence?

A

Minor crime, heard in Magistrates’ Court.
Examples are drink driving, minor assaults
Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic)

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2
Q

What is an indictable offence?

A

Serious crime, heard in County/Supreme Court, heard by jury, uses committal proceedings.
Examples are homicide offences, sexual offences
Crimes Act 1958 (Vic)

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3
Q

What is the burden of proof?

A

Which party is responsible to prove facts of case (prosecution in CJS)
If accused pleads a defence then they have BoP

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4
Q

What is the standard of proof?

A

Level of certainty/strength of evidence needed to prove case.
Prosecution must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
If accused has SoP, must prove on balance of probablities

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5
Q

What is the presumption of innocence?

A

Accused is considered innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Protected by Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)

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6
Q

3 rights of accused

A

Right to be tried without unreasonable delay
Right to silence
Right to trial by jury

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7
Q

Right to be tried without unreasonable delay

A

Accused is entitled to have charges heard in timely manner, delays only occur if reasonable.

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8
Q

Right to silence

A

Accused can refuse to answer questions or give evidence, protected by common law.

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9
Q

Right to trial by jury

A

Jury system provides opportunity for community participation in legal process.

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10
Q

3 rights of victims

A

Right to give evidence using alternative arrangements
Right to be informed about proceedings
Right to be informed of likely release date of offender

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11
Q

Right to give evidence using alternative arrangements

A

Cases AA can be made:
Sexual offence, family violence
Types of AA:
witness gives evidence from place other than courtroom through closed-circuit TV.
Screens used to remove accused from view of witness
Support person chosen by witness to be beside them while giving evidence
Purpose:
tries to reduce trauma, distress & intimidation for witnesses.

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12
Q

Right to be informed about proceedings

A

Victim’s Charter requires police, DPP & Victims of Criminal Commissioner to give clear, timely & consistent info support services & legal assistance.

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13
Q

Right to be informed of likely release date of offender

A

Once a victim is registered on the Victims Register, they may receive info about offender who was imprisoned, like the release of prisoner on parole 14 days before released

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14
Q

3 Principles of Justice

A

Fairness
Equality
Access

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15
Q

Fairness

A

All people can participate in justice system, and processes should be impartial & open, done through impartial processes & open processes & participation

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16
Q

Equality

A

All people engaging with justice system and processes should be treated in same way, if same treatment creates disparity/disadvantage, adequate measures should be implemented to allow everyone to engage with CJS without disparity/disadvantage

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17
Q

Access

A

All people should be able to engage with the justice system and its processes on an informed basis.

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18
Q

Role of VLA

A

Government-funded body that provides free legal information to community & legal advice & representation for people who cannot afford a lawyer, prioritises people who need it most

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19
Q

VLA - types of assistance for accused

A

Free legal info, free legal advice, duty lawyer services (only for Magistrates’ Court, not indictable offences), grants of legal assistance (paying for a lawyer)

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20
Q

VLA - types of assistance for victims

A

Free legal info, free legal advice, duty lawyer services, grants of legal assistance, referrals to other legal services they don’t provide

21
Q

Strengths of VLA

A

Free legal info is available on VLA’s website to everyone, including info about court processes, rights or principles.

Free legal advice and assistance, through duty lawyers and grants of legal assistance, prioritises most vulnerable in society

Some legal info is provided in more than 30 languages, is able to organise free interpreters

22
Q

Weaknesses of VLA

A

Free legal info available on VLA’s website may not be enough for people, like those charged with indictable offences

Does not have unlimited resources, must apply criteria to ensure its funding is used appropriately & targeted to those who need it most - accused may be forced to self-represent and would not be able to properly defend themselves

Ability of VLA to meet demand for services depends on continued funding, increase in demand means fewer people are eligible for VLA

23
Q

Role of CLCs

A

Provides accused people with info, legal advice & ongoing assistance, provides community with legal education = greater awareness of rights & legal info

24
Q

CLCs - types of assistance for accused

A

Basic legal info, legal advice & assistance, ongoing casework (legal representation & assistance),

25
Q

CLCs - types of assistance for victims

A

Basic legal info, legal advice & assistance, duty lawyer services, ongoing casework

26
Q

Strengths of CLCs

A

Free legal info available on many CLC websites

Some legal info provided in different languages, some CLCs offer free interpreter services

Provide info to help educate community about processes and their rights.

27
Q

Weaknesses of CLCs

A

Insufficient funding to help everyone who needs legal assistance, some people are not receiving help

Don’t assist people charged with indictable offences

May not have enough staff/volunteers to meet needs of accused people & victims, may result in people being turned away or having less time for complex legal issues

28
Q

What are plea negotiations?

A

Discussions between prosecution and accused, aimed at resolving the case by agreeing on an outcome to the criminal charges laid

29
Q

Purposes of plea negotiations

A

Ensure certainty of outcome of case

To save on cots, time and resources

To achieve a prompt resolution to a criminal case without stress, trauma & inconvenience of criminal trials

30
Q

Appropriateness of plea negotiations

A

Whether accused is willing to cooperate in investigation or with prosecution

Strength of evidence

Whether accused is ready & willing to plead guilty

Whether accused is represented, prosecution may be less willing to negotiate with a self-represented party who may not understand processes

31
Q

Strengths of Plea negotiations

A

Help with prompt determination of cases, this is because they avoid full hearings and matter can proceed to sentencing

Victims, witnesses and their families, and accused’s family are saved trauma, inconvenience & distress of trial process

Prosecution will consult with victims and may take their views into consideration when deciding whether to negotiate with an accused

32
Q

Weaknesses of plea negotiations

A

Do not need to be disclosed and can be held privately, lack of transparency may make some people question agreement or reason why prosecution negotiated.

May be seen as prosecutor avoiding need to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt, which upholds presumption of innocence.

Victims do not have a final say on whether prosecutor negotiates with accused, views are not determinative on whether there will be a plea negotiation

33
Q

2 reasons for Victorian court hierarchy

A

Specialisation
Appeals

34
Q

Specialisation

A

Courts have ability to develop their own areas of expertise or specialisation

For example, the Supreme Court (Court of Appeal) specialises in determining appeals, Supreme Court (Trial Division) hears most serious indictable offences and has developed its own specialisation in those types of crime and elements of each crime

35
Q

Appeals

A

An application to have a higher court review a ruling/decision.

Can be appealed on a question of law, appealing conviction, appealing because of severity

36
Q

Strengths of court hierarchy

A

Allows courts to specialise in different types of criminal matters, allowing efficient processes/resources based on cases they hear

Existence of court hierarchy allows appeals to be made by both parties if there is an error in original decision

37
Q

Weaknesses of court hierarchy

A

Many different courts can be confusing for people who do not understand CJS, this is so people charged with indictable offences where case will involve both Magistrates’ Court and a higher courts

Does not allow automatic right to appeal in most instances, offenders need to establish grounds for appeal, this can restrict ability of accused people to access appeal hierarchy may struggle to formulate grounds for appeal

38
Q

Role of judge & magistrate

A

Oversee case, make sure court procedures are carried out in accordance with court’s rules to ensure parties are treated fairly, must act impartially.

Must act impartially means they must not only be unbiased, but no apprehension/belief that they may not be unbiased for particular reasons, this is known as apprehended bias

Manage trial/hearing requires them to make sure correct court procedure is followed that both parties have equal opportunity to present case, make decisions during course of trial (whether evidence is permitted), adjust court processes if necessary to ensure party does not suffer disparity/disadvantage.

39
Q

Magistrate decisions/overseeing outcome of case

A

Has role of deciding whether accused is guilty of committing crime, because no jury is present in summary offences

Is required to listen to case presented by both parties and decide whether accused is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

40
Q

Judge decisions/overseeing outcome of case

A

Jury will decide guilt, not judge, however, judge ensures jury understands roles and sums up case to them. Gives directions to jury to ensure fair trial, once trial has concluded and summarise case to jury.

41
Q

Strengths of roles of magistrates/judges

A

Acts impartially, oversee trial process by do not interfere in trial or help either party win case, no party is disadvantaged

Manage hearing processes, ensures rules of evidence & procedure are followed, so both parties have opportunity to present case

Able to assist self-represented accused people can adjust trial process to accomodate more vulnerable people

42
Q

Weaknesses of roles of magistrates/judges

A

Are human, risks of actual/apprehended bias that impacts decision

Lack of diversity in judges and magistrates, like lack of women and culturally diverse judges/magistrates

Cannot interfere with case, including those involving self-represented parties even though thy are one of the most experienced in room

43
Q

Roles of jury

A

Be objective (unbiased), listen and remember evidence, understand directions and summing up (from judge), reach & deliver unanimous verdict

44
Q

Strengths of jury

A

Randomly picked, have no connection to parties and can make a decision based on facts, not biases

Allows members of jury to participate in CJS processes and ensures that justice is seen to be done

Collective decision-making can reduce possibility of bias, because personal biases can be identified during deliberation process

Represent cross-section of community, made of diverse groups of people, which leads to decision reflecting views & values of society

45
Q

Weaknesses of jury

A

Unconscious biases/prejudices, as they do not give reasons for their decisions, there is no way of knowing whether bias played a role in their decision-making

Criminal cases can be complex, it is unclear whether jurors will be able to understand legal principles involved and evidence that is given to then make decisions based on facts

May results in further delays as rules, evidence and processes need to be explained to jury, and a jury may require some time to deliberate

Number of people cannot participate in jury because they are ineligible/excused, therefore it is not possible that a large section of community is not represented

46
Q

Roles of prosecution

A

To present entire case to jury/magistrate and let them decide guilt

To do this they disclose info to accused, participate in trial, make submissions about sentencing

47
Q

Roles of accused

A

Participate in trial, make submissions about sentencing

48
Q

Strengths of parties

A

Prosecutor has special obligations to disclose

Unit 3 Legal (1 decks)

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