Basics of Law and Courts

Question 1

what is a legal rule?

Answer 1

• used to strictly prohibit people’s actions
• applies to everyone
• different groups of people make, enforce, and create consequences for breaking it

Question 2

what are 3 examples of legal rules?

Answer 2

murder, kidnapping, burglary

Question 3

what is a non-legal rule?

Answer 3

• only applies to certain people/certain groups of people

- the same person/group makes, enforces, and creates consequences for breaking it

Question 4

what are 3 examples of non-legal rules?

Answer 4

school rules, rules created by parents, sporting club rules

Question 5

why do we need laws?

Answer 5

• to protect people’s rights
• to ensure that people feel generally safe and secure
• to stop chaos within the world and people just doing whatever they want at all times
• enabling us to live in harmony with one another
• to provide justice if someone has been wronged

Question 6

what makes a good law?

Answer 6

the law must be:

• known to the public
• acceptable within the community
• able to be enforced
• able to be changed
• applied consistently
• able to resolve disputes

Question 7

what is criminal law?

Answer 7

• deals with people breaking laws
• to protect the community and appropriately punish the perpetrator
• deals with more serious offences, and gives more serious consequences

Question 8

what are 3 examples of things that would be dealt with as criminal law?

Answer 8

kidnapping, murder, burglary

Question 9

what is civil law?

Answer 9

• deals with cases/disputes between individual parties
• to resolve disputes instead of punish one party
• deals with less serious cases, and gives less serious consequences

Question 10

what are 3 examples of things that would be dealt with as civil law?

Answer 10

employment law, property law, family law

Question 11

who initiates the case in a civil matter?

Answer 11

the plaintiff

Question 12

who is the person that a criminal case is brought against?

Answer 12

the defendent/the accused

Question 13

what does the judge do?

Answer 13

• hears cases and makes decisions in the county and the supreme court
• directs/informs the jury about the relevent laws
• imposes the sentence

Question 14

who decides if the defendent is guilty or not?

Answer 14

the jury

Question 15

how many people are in a jury in a civil case?

Answer 15

6 people

Question 16

how many people are in a jury in a criminal case?

Answer 16

12 people

Question 17

who is the person that a civil case is brought against?

Answer 17

the respondent

Question 18

who is the barrister?

Answer 18

a legal advocate who is briefed by a solicitor to present the defence or prosectution case in court

Question 19

who is the defence solicitor?

Answer 19

gives the client advice and briefs the barrister on the case and how they want to represented

Question 20

who is the informant in a criminal case?

Answer 20

the police officer who charged the defendent

Question 21

who is the informant in a coronial inquest?

Answer 21

the police officer who investigated on behalf of the coroner

Question 22

what is the magistrate’s court’s version of a judge?

Answer 22

the magistrate

Question 23

what does the magistrate do?

Answer 23

• hears cases and makes decisions in the magistrates’ court and the children’s court
• decide what happens to a case, whether it will go to another court or be put off another day
• decides whether the defendent is guilty or not
• decides the penalty for the defendant

Question 24

who is the manager/administrater of the court who will help you at a court counter?

Answer 24

the registrar

Question 25

who is the prosecutor?

Answer 25

the person who appears in court to present the case against the defendant in a criminal hearing

Question 26

who prosecutes cases in the magistrate’s and chilren’s courts?

Answer 26

a police officer

Question 27

who prosecutes cases in courts higher than the magistrate’s court and the children’s court?

Answer 27

the office of public prosecutions

Question 28

what does the associate judge do?

Answer 28

hears and determines issues that arise before and after trial in civil cases

Question 29

does the associate judge hear trials?

Answer 29

no

Question 30

in what court is there an associate judge?

Answer 30

the supreme court

Question 31

in what courts is there a judge’s associate?

Answer 31

supreme court, county court, and coroners court

Question 32

how does the judge’s associate assist the judge?

Answer 32

• completing paperwork
• liaising with parties
• keeping a record of court proceedings

Question 33

who sits near the magistrate or coroner and announces cases, calls people into court, directs people where to stand, reads the charges in a criminal hearing and administers the oath to witnesses?

Answer 33

the bench clerk

Question 34

in what courts is there a bench clerk?

Answer 34

magistrate’s court, children’s court, and coroner’s court

Question 35

what does the tipstaff do?

Answer 35

• announces that court is in session
• administers the oath to witnesses
• escorts the jury and deals with practical matters for them

Question 36

in what courts is there a tipstaff?

Answer 36

supreme court and county court

Question 37

what is the court hierarchy in victoria from highest to lowest?

Answer 37

high court of australia
supreme court of victoria (court of appeal)
supreme court of victoria (trial division)
county court of victoria
magistrates court of victoria
childrens’s court of victoria + coroners court of victoria

Question 38

what does the children’s court deal with?

Answer 38

matters to do with minors aged 10-17 (e.g. if a minor commits a crime)

Question 39

what does the coroner’s court deal with?

Answer 39

investigates suspicious or unexpected deaths/fires

Question 40

can you appeal high court decisions?

Answer 40

no, because there is no higher court to appeal them to

Question 41

which court is the only one that has jurisdiction over murder and treason?

Answer 41

the supreme court (trial division)

Question 42

what offences does the magistrate’s court hear?

Answer 42

summary offences and indictable offences that are heard summarily

Question 43

what offences does the county court hear?

Answer 43

serious indictable offences (other than murder and treason)

Question 44

does the magistrate’s court hear appeals?

Answer 44

no, because they are the lowest court, so there is nowhere lower for people to appeal to them from

Question 45

what are summary offences?

Answer 45

• less serious criminal offences with less serious consequences
• offences heard only by a judge, not a jury
• dealt with in the magistrates court

Question 46

what is the maximum penalty for a summary offence in victoria?

Answer 46

2 years jail time or a fine of 240 penalty units

Question 47

what are 3 examples of summary offences?

Answer 47

tattooing juveniles, making false police reports, being disguised with unlawful intent

Question 48

what are indictable offences?

Answer 48

• more serious criminal offences, with more serious consequences
• heard in the county court (aside from murder and treason, which are heard in the supreme court
• trials require a judge and a jury

Question 49

what is the maximum penalty for an indictable offence?

Answer 49

life in prison

Question 50

what are 3 examples of indictable offences?

Answer 50

threats to kill, murder, treason

Question 51

what is the burden of proof?

Answer 51

having the burden of proof means that the prosecution has the burden/responsibility of proving that the defendant is guilty, using information and evidence relating to the case. the defendant is innoncent until they are proven guilty by the prosecution.