Essay 2 - Criminal Trial

Question 1

List the LCMDIs for paragraph 1 - victims

Answer 1

More reliable than a single judge, sometimes jury do the right thing
- R v Leach (2010)

Question 2

List the LCMDIs for paragraph 1 - society

Answer 2

Juror misconduct, not resource efficient
- media article: “drug trial abandoned after jurors play sudoku” (ABC 2008)

Question 3

List the LCMDIs for paragraph 1 - suspects

Answer 3

• judge-only trials protect from jury bias
• R v Gittany (2014)

Question 4

List the LCMDIs for paragraph 2 - victims

Answer 4

No input if not trial
- R v Loveridge

Question 5

List the LCMDIs for paragraph 2 - suspects

Answer 5

Encourages to plead guilty, allows an opportunity for negotiation
- BOCSAR: early guilty pleas in District Court matters increased from 70% in 2018 to 76.5% in 2021

Question 6

List the LCMDIs for paragraph 2 - society

Answer 6

Resource efficient, higher rate of criminal convictions
- ABS: over 90% of criminal cases in Australia are resolved through plea bargaining

Question 7

State the conclusion

Answer 7

In summary, the criminal trial process is moderately effective at balancing the rights of victims, offenders and society, evaluated from the moderate effectiveness of the jury system, and the moderate effectiveness of pleas and charge negotiation.

Question 8

What are the judgments?
Overall:
Paragraph 1:
- victims:
- suspects:
- society:
Paragraph 2:
- victims:
- suspects:
- society:

Answer 8

Paragraph 1: moderately
- victims: significantly
- suspects: moderately
- society: somewhat
Paragraph 2: moderately
- victims: limited
- suspects: significantly
- society: significantly