AOS 2 Flashcards
Royal Commission
The highest form of inquiry into matters of public concern and importance. Royal commissions are established by the government and are given wide powers to investigate and report on an important matter of public concern.
Majority Verdict
A jury vote or decision where all but one of the jury members agree with the decision. In a criminal trial, this means 11 of the 12 juror are in agreement.
Strict Liability
Where culpability or responsibility for committing a crime can be established without having to prove there was mens rea.
Crime
An act or omission that is:
- Against an existing law.
- Harmful to an individual or to society.
- Punishable by law.
Remand
People who have not had a trial or convicted of a crime.
Element 2 - The Victim was a Human Being
The victim must be a living person who has been born. That is, the victim must be in a living state.
Criminal Law
An area of the law that defines behaviours and conducts that are prohibited and outlines sanctions for people who commit them.
Manslaughter
The unintentional killing of a person due to a reckless, dangerous act or negligent behaviour.
Balance of Probabilities
The standard of proof in civil disputes. This requires the plaintiff to establish that it is more probable that their version of the facts is correct.
Malice Aforethought
The intention to kill or cause serious injury to a person. This malicious intention is the mental element necessary for murder.
Prison
Found Guilty
Unanimous Verdict
A jury vote or decision where all jury members are in agreement and decide the same way. In a criminal case, this means that all 12 jurors are in agreement.
Division A
Crimes against the person (Homicide, Assault)
The Role of the Laws in Developing the Elements of and Defences to Murder (Common)
The definition and elements of murder, and some of the defences to murder (including intoxication, automatism and accident) have been established throughout the years by courts.
Division C
Drug offences (Dealing and Trafficking Drugs, Using Drugs)
Murder
The intentional unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought, by a person who is of the age of discretion and of sound mind.
Indictable Offence
A serious offence generally heard before a judge and a jury in the County Court or the Supreme Court of Victoria.
(General Defences) Defence 6 - Intoxication
At the time of the offence, they acted involuntarily or without intent due to being in an intoxicated state as a result of consuming alcohol, taking drugs, or ingesting some other substance. The accused must prove that their state of intoxication was not self-inflicted.
Victim Impact Statement
A statement filled with the court by a victim that is considered by the court when sentencing. It contains particulars of any injury, loss or damage suffered by the victim as a result of the offence.
Malice Aforethought
An intention to cause harm or death.
Impact (of murder) on Community
- Loss of trust in the community and within the legal system.
- Cost of the victim’s medical treatment.
- Cost of running a criminal trial.
- Trauma experienced by emergency service workers to the incident.
- Can rally community outrage and the demand for change.
Secure Treatment Order
A sanction that requires the accused to be compulsorily detained, and receive treatment, at a mental health service.
White-collar Crime
Criminal offences undertaken by people who work in government, businesses or in the corporate world.
Indictable offence heard and determined summarily
A serious offence that can be heard and determined as a summary offence if the court and the accused agree.
Bail
The release of an accused person from custody on condition that they will attend a court hearing to answer the charges.
Principle Offender
A person who has carried out the actus reus directly committed the offence.
Child Homicide
The killing of a child under 6 years of age in circumstances that would normally be manslaughter.
Accessory
A person who knowingly assists another person who has committed a serious indictable offence to avoid being apprehended, prosecuted, convicted or punished.
Division F
Other offences (Regulatory driving offences, transport regulation offences)
Impact (of Culpable Driving Causing Death) on Family and Loved Ones
- Loss of life
- Disruption of family life
- Trauma, grief and loss, and related medical issues.
- Funeral costs
- Lost labour and income in the household
- Continuing psychological issues
- Loss of trust in law and order, and community values.
Summary Offence
A minor offence generally heard in the Magistrate’s Court of Victoria.
Presumption
Something assumed to be true based on probability.
The Role of the Laws in Developing the Elements of and Defences of Culpable Driving Causing Death (Statute)
Culpable driving causing death is a statutory offence under section 318 of the Crimes Act. These offences were developed over time in direct response to high road tolls and community concerns about irresponsible drivers who put other people’s lives at risk.
Defences to Murder
For a person to be found guilty of murder, the prosecution must prove each of the 6 elements of murder beyond reasonable doubt.
The Role of the Laws in Developing the Elements of and Defences to Murder (Statute)
The penalty for murder is established by parliament and set out in the statute law (ie. section 3 of the Crimes Act). This act also sets out the defences available to murder, including those originally established by common law and some established by parliament.
Elements of Murder
- The killing was unlawful
- The victim was a human being
- The accused was a person over the age of discretion
- The accused caused the victim’s death
- The accused was a person of sound mind
- There was malice aforthought
Division D
Public order and security offences (Weapons and Explosive Offences, Public Security Offences)
Juvenile Crime
A criminal offence undertaken by a young person aged between 10-18 years.
Social Cohesion
A term used to describe the willingness of members of a society to cooperate with each other in order to survive and prosper.
Unlawful Homicide
Includes all crimes that involve the killing of another person without legal justification.
Actus Reus
A Latin term meaning ‘guilty act’; the physical element of a crime (ie. an awareness of the fact that the conduct is criminal).
Culpable Driving Causing Death
The act of causing the death of another person while driving a motor vehicle in a negligent or reckless manner or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Presumption of Innocence
The right of a person accused of a crime to be presumed not guilty unless proven otherwise.
Impact (of murder) on Family and Loved Ones
- Dealing and coping with the loss of a loved one.
- Trauma, stress, grief and loss associated with the loss of life.
- Financial impacts such as funeral costs or impact on household income.
- Trauma associated with a criminal trial.
- Loss of trust in community value.
(General Defences) Defence 1 - Self-defence
- Believe that their actions were necessary to protect or defend themselves.
- Perceived their actions to be a reasonable response in the circumstances.
Impact (of Culpable Driving Causing Death) on Community
- Cost of publicly funded medical treatment
- Need for coronial services
- Increased need for police, fire and emergency services.
- Trauma to emergency service workers responding to fatal collision
- Increased insurance premiums for motor vehicles
- Loss of workplace productivity
- Damage to community property
- Loss of trust in law and order, and community values.
(General Defences) Defence 4 - Sudden or Extraordinary Emergency
- There was a sudden or extraordinary emergency.
- Their actions were the only way of dealing with the situation.
- Their actions were a reasonable response to the situation.
Impact (of murder) on the Offender
- Guilt or shame in causing death
- Legal costs
- Custodial sentence
- Loss of household income if the offender is imprisoned
- Diminishment of the family’s social standing and wellbeing.
- Negative influences as a result of exposure to prison.
Victimless Crime
An offence that only involves the offender/s and where no direct harm is suffered by a victim. The offence also goes against what society considers to be acceptable and can directly harm individuals and the wide community.
General Defences of Murder (Duress)
In murder cases, the threat of harm placing the accused under duress must be a threat to inflict death or significant serious injury. Evidence of family violence may be used to prove a person acted under duress.
(General Defences) Defence 2 - Mental Impairment
- Did not know what they were doing because they had little understanding of the nature and quality of their actions.
- Did not know their conduct was wrong or could not reason, or think about their conduct like an ordinary person.
Doli Incapax
A Latin term meaning ‘incapable of evil’; the principle that a child aged between 10 and 13 years is presumed to be incapable of forming mens rea because they do not have the intellectual or moral capacity to know the difference between right and wrong.
Impact (of Culpable Driving Causing Death) on the Offender
- Medical treatment and cost (if injured)
- Guilt or shame in causing a death
- Legal costs
- Likelihood of custodial sentence
- Lost labour and income in the household
- Impact on their family’s social standing, finances and health and well-being.
- Damage to, replacement or impounding of vehicle.
(General Defences) Defence 7 - Accident
This would apply if the actions the accused took to commit the offence were involuntary, unintentional or reasonably unforeseeable by an ordinary person.
General Defences of Murder (Self-Defence)
In murder cases, the accused must believe their actions were necessary to protect themselves or another person from death or significant serious injury.
Laws
Legal rules made by a legal authority (ie. parliaments or courts) that are enforceable by the police and other law enforcement agencies.
Accused
A person charged with a criminal offence.
Division E
Justice procedure offences (Perjury, Contempt of Court)
General Defences of Murder (Sudden or Extraordinary Emergency)
In murder cases, the sudden or extraordinary emergency must involve risk of death or serious injury.
General Defences of Murder
- Self-defence
- Duress
- Sudden or extraordinary emergency
Cyber-crime
A criminal offence in which the use of computers or information communication technologies (ICT) is an essential and central part of the offending.
Rebut
To prove something (evidence or an accusation) is false.
Element 3 - The Accused was a Person Over the Age of Discretion
The accused must be a child aged above 10 years of age.
Defence to a Crime
A justification or lawful ‘excuse’ for committing a crime.
Dangerous Driving Causing Death
The act of causing the death of another person while driving a motor vehicle at a speed or in a way that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances of the case.
Organised Crime
Criminal offences undertaken in a planned and ongoing manner by organised syndicates or gangs.
Hate Crime
A criminal offence motivated by hostility and prejudice towards the victim (eg. because of their race or religion.)
Parliament
A formal assembly of representatives of the people that are elected by the people and gathers together to make laws.
Element 6 - There was Malice Aforethought
The prosecution must prove the accused acted with malic aforethought.
Defences of Culpable Driving Causing Death
For a person to be found guilty of culpable driving causing death, the prosecution must prove each of the 2 elements of culpable driving causing death beyond reasonable doubt.
Sanction
A penalty (eg. fine or prison sentence) imposed by a court on a person guilty of a criminal offence.
Causation
The direct relationship between one event and another event where Event 1 was the reason Event 2 happened, and Event 2 would not have happened by itself without Event 1.
Reasonable Belief
An honestly held opinion about the ways things. are, which would seem to another ordinary person with similar characteristics (eg. age or maturity) and in similar circumstances, to be sensible or correct.
Plaintiff
(In civil disputes) a party who makes a legal claim against another party (ie. the defendant in court).
Elements of Culpable Driving Causing Death
- The accused was the driver of a motor vehicle.
- The accused culpably caused a person’s death while driving the motor vehicle.
Police Informant
A person who secretly gives information to the police about criminal offendings, including information about the people involved in criminal activity, which may be used during the investigation and prosecution of a crime.
Crimes against the person
Offences against the person include crime where a person is harmed.
Prosecution
The lawyers who prepare a criminal case and take it to court on behalf of the state, the victim and society.
Crimes against property
Include crimes that involve using force or deception of some kind to obtain, damage or destroy property including money, personal property or land property.
Jury
An independent group of people chosen at random to decide on the evidence in a legal case and reach a decision (ie. a verdict).
Crime Statistics
Infromation (ie. data) collected by authorities (eg. police) and analysed to track the level of the crime or offending in the community. Crime statistics also track the types and levels of sentences given to convicted offenders.
Mens Rea
A Latin term meaning ‘guilty mind’; the mental element of a crime (ie. an awareness of the fact that the conduct is criminal).
Element 4 - The Accused Caused the Victim’s Death
The prosecution must prove the accused’s actions contributed significantly and substantially to the victim’s death. More specifically, the prosecution must prove causation.
Element 1 - The Killing was Unlawful
The prosecutor must prove the accused did not have a legal justification for causing the other person’s death.
(General Defences) Defence 5 - Automatism
- While sleeping or sleepwalking.
- While suffering a concussion
- During an epileptic seizure
- As a result of a medical condition or because of a side effect of the proper use of medication.
Age of Criminal Responsibility
The required age of an offender for them to be able to be prosecuted for a criminal offence.
Element 5 - The Accused was a Person of Sound Mind
The prosecution must establish that the accused was a person of sound mind and therefore capable of forming the mens rea to commit a crime.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
The standard of proof in criminal cases. This requires the prosecution to prove there is no reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence.
Division B
Property and deception offences (Arson, Property Damage)
Homicide
Offences where an accused has caused the death of another.
Infanticide
The killing by a mother of a child under 2 years old while suffering a mental condition caused by the effects of that child’s birth.
Burden of Proof
The obligation (ie. responsibility) of a party to prove a case. The burden of proof usually rests with the party who initiates the action (ie. the plaintiff in civil dispute and the prosecution in a criminal case).
Standard of Proof
The degree or extent to which a case must be proved ina court.
The Role of the Laws in Developing the Elements of and Defences of Culpable Driving Causing Death (Common)
The courts have, over the years, assisted in clarifying driving laws including the statutory elements of culpable driving causing death.
Dangerous Driving Causing Serious Injury
The act of causing serious injury to another person while driving a motor vehicle at a speed or in a way that is dangerous to the public, having regard to all the circumstances of the case.
(General Defences) Defence 3 - Duress
- A threat of harm existed.
- The threat would have been carried out unless the offence was committed.
- Committing was the only reasonable way to avoid the threatened harm.
- Their conduct was a reasonable response to the threat.
