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Legal Studies > The Criminal Trial Process > Flashcards

The Criminal Trial Process Flashcards

1
Q

What is original jurisdiction?

A

The ability of a court to hear a case on first instance

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2
Q

What is appellate jurisdiction?

A

The authority of a court to review matters on appeal from another court

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3
Q

What is a coronial inquest?

A

A court hearing conducted by a coroner to help determine the manner and cause of death

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4
Q

Who are judges?

A

Judicial officers who preside over intermediate and superior courts

District and Supreme Court btw

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5
Q

Who are Magistrates?

A

Judcial officers who preside over hearings in the Local Court

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6
Q

What are the 2 types of prosecutors?

A

Public prosecutors and Police prosecutors

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7
Q

What is the Burden of Proof?

A

In criminal matters, the responsibility of the prosecution to prove the case against the accused.

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8
Q

What is the standard of proof?

A

The level of proof required for a party to suceed in court.

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9
Q

How is legal aid granted?

A

Must go through a means test

Only 8% can actually access this

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10
Q

What does ‘Beyond reasonable doubt mean?’

A

The standard of proof required in a criminal case for a person to be found guilty

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11
Q

What is a Complete Defence?

A

A justification for the accused’s actions and if successfully proven will either result in all charges being dropped or acquitted

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12
Q

What are the six types of Complete Defences?

A
  1. Mental illness or insanity
  2. Automatism
  3. Mistake
  4. Self defence or neccesity
  5. Duress
  6. Consent
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13
Q

What are characertistics of the Coroner’s Court?

Coroner’s Act 2009

A
  • Original jurisdiction for investigating the cause of suspicious deaths
  • Investigates unexplained fires or explosions
  • More inquisitorial and coroner calls witnesses and can give evidence at the inquest
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14
Q

What does automatism refer to?

A

The idea that the actions of the accused were involunatry and could not be controlled and thus mens rea cannot be established. e.g. medical episodes

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15
Q

What is duress?

A

When someone is coerced or forced to do something against their will from someone else

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16
Q

What is self defence?

A

That the defendant acted in defence of self, another or
property; only accepted in limited circumstances and
only for reasonable force

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17
Q

Why is using Self Defence as a complete defence risky?

A

Self defence as a complete defence can only be uesed when reasonable force in terms of the propotion to the crime is justified. What ‘reasonable force’ means to a jury can be quite different to the accused.

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18
Q

What are the charecteristics of the Local Court?

The Local Court Act 2007 (NSW)

A
  • No jury, presided by a Magistrate
  • Oversees commital processes
  • Hears bail hearings and AVO hearings
  • No appellate jurisdiction
  • Hears most summary offences
  • Up to 100,000 in civil cases
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19
Q

What are characteristics of the Children’s Court?

Children’s Court Act 1987 (NSW)

A
  • Specialised Court
  • Closed court
  • Presided over Magistrate and has no jury
  • Children’s Court magistrates have specialised training in dealing with youth matters, and proceedings, formalities and available sentences are different from those applicable in other courts.
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20
Q

What factors affect the court that a criminal matter may be heard in?

A
  • Seriousness and nature of the offence
  • Whether it is a first time or repeat offence
  • Age of the accused
  • Type of hearing (e.g. bail)
  • Is crime an offence under state or federal law
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21
Q

What are disadvantages of Charge Negotiation?

A
  • Tells prosecution how you will conduct defence
  • In order to get Prosecution to withdraw case, you may have to highlight weaknesses in their case and thus give them an oppurtunity to fix them
  • Intimidation or manipulation
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22
Q

What are charecteristics of the District Court?

Distcrict Court Act 1973 (NSW)

A
  • Holds apellate jurisdiction for Children’s Court and Local Court
  • Original jurisdiction for civil claims up to $750,000
  • Hears most indictable offences except murder and treason
  • Case heard by judge and jury
  • Matters are more formal and will take longer to be heard
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23
Q

What are characertistics of the Drug Court?

A
  • Only a person who has plead guilty, is over 18, highly likely for fulltime imprisonment and dependent on drugs can apply
  • Emerged as a resuslt of growing disenchantment with the ability of traditional criminal justice approaches to provide long term solutions to cycle of drug use and crime
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24
Q

What are charecteristics of the Supreme Court?

Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW)

A
  • Apellate jurisdiction for lower and intermediate courts
  • Original jurisdiction for civil matters over $750,000
  • Hears most serious criminal matters and has original jurisdiction for Commonwealth prosecutionsfor serious breaches of the Corporations Law
  • Highest level of State Formaility
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25
Q

What are characteristics of the Court of Criminal Appeal

A
  • State’s highest court for criminal matters
  • Can hear appeals from District Court and Supreme Court
  • Usually heard by 3 judges sometimes 5
  • Appellate jurisdiction from all levels
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26
Q

What are characteristics of the High Court?

Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth)

A
  • Original jurisdiction for limited Commonwealth matters
  • Original jurisdiction for Constiutional matters
  • Appellate jurisdiction to hear appeals from all State and Territory Supreme Courts
  • Requires special leave and prelimenary hearing
27
Q

What are characteristics of Land and Environmental Court?

A
  • Same status as Supreme Court
  • OG jurisdiction for:
    1. Civil and administrative disputes relating to environmental planning
    2. Criminal offences related to the environment e.g illegal dumping
28
Q

What is Charge Negotiation?

A

An agreement between the DPP and the accused that involves the acceptance of a guilty plea, usually in exchange for something else.

29
Q

What are advantages of Charge Negotiation?

A
  • Avoids cost and stress of a trial
  • Reduces maximum potential penalty
  • Provides greater certainty of the outcome of the case
30
Q

What are characteristics for the Coroner’s Court?

Cornoner’s Act 2009 (NSW)

A
  • Original jurisdiction for investigating the cause and manner of a person’s death. Also investigates unexplained fires or explosions
  • Coroner can call witnesses and give evidence at inquest
31
Q

What options does someone have for legal representation?

A
  1. Pay for counsel
  2. Pro bono
  3. Legal Aid
  4. Representing Self
32
Q

Define Court Hierachy

A

The system of courts within a jurisdiction, from lower courts to intermediate courts to higher courts

33
Q

What are the lower courts?

A
  • Local Court
  • Children’s Court
  • Coroner’s Court
34
Q

What is the intermediate court?

A

District Court

35
Q

What are the superior courts?

A
  • Supreme Court
  • High Court
36
Q

What are the pros of Charge Negotiation?

A
  • Decreases costs and delays
  • Conviction with lesser charge is better than no charge at all
  • Spares victim from trauma of having to testify
37
Q

What are the cons of Charge Negotiation?

A
  • Accused may plead guilty to a crime they’re innocent to
  • Accused may be manipulated to forfeit right to a trial
  • Prosecutors may threaten more serious charges and intimidate accused to plead guilty
  • Increases processing times in the Local Court
  • Allows police to change defence
38
Q

What Act creates the Legal Aid Commission?

A

Legal Aid Commission Act 1979 (NSW)

39
Q

What case helps establish Legal Aid?

A

Dietrich v Queen (1992)

40
Q

What does Legal Aid do?

A

Provides legal assistance and representation to people who are socially and economically disadvantaged to ensure that they have equitable access to the law. It aims to safeguard people’s
rights in the legal system and to improve their access to justice.

41
Q

When can Evidence become inadmissable?

A
  • It is irelevent
  • Someone’s opinion
  • Hearsay
  • Witness is not credible
  • Judge’s discretion
  • Gained illeagally
42
Q

What is ‘fruit of the poisoned tree’?

A

the source (the “tree”) of the evidence or evidence itself is tainted, then anything gained (the “fruit”) from it is tainted as well.

43
Q

What are 3 types of Evidence

A
  • Real
  • Documentary
  • Witness Testimony
44
Q

What is Real Evidence?

A

Physical evidence that can be presented to jurors at trial

45
Q

What is Documentary Evidence?

A

Involves original documents gathered during the investigation

46
Q

What is an expert witness?

A

A person who has studied some element of the evidence as an independent expert during the investigation

47
Q

Why are expert witnesses valuable?

A

They can persuade a jury to think a certain way and are impartial. They also allow for jurors to understand more complex issues through simplified understanding. Easily strengthen or weaken a case.

48
Q

What are problems with expert witnesses?

A
  • They could be incorrect
  • If debunked, expert could lose credibility
  • If questions are out of field of knowledge, their responses will be irrelevent
49
Q

What are contempourous notes?

A

The practice of taking detailed, time-stamped, and accurate notes while an event is happening or immediately after it occurs. E.g iWitnessed

50
Q

What happens if a subpeona is ignored?

A

A person can be charged with ‘contempt of court’

51
Q

What must a witness do before giving testimony?

A

Give an oath

52
Q

What case can be used involving ‘use of evidence, including expert witnesses’?

A

Wood v R (2012) NSW CCA

53
Q

What are the aim of legal defences?

A

Help achieve justice by allowing the court to consider the cirumstances that might justify the accused’s act or reduce culpability. They are mostly surrounded around mens rea.

54
Q

What are the 2 types of defences?

A
  1. Complete
  2. Partial
55
Q

What Act governs self-defence?

A

Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) Section 418

56
Q

What theme presides self-defence cases?

A

The act conducted must be proportional and performed with reaosonable force to defend themselves.

57
Q

What are the partial defences?

A
  1. Extreme Provocation
  2. Diminished Responsibility
58
Q

What is Extreme Provocation?

A

The accused claims that their actions were as a direct result of the other person’s actions and caused them to lose self control.

59
Q

What are themes of Extreme Provocation?

A
  1. Can only be used in murder cases where as a partial defence, would reduce the charge to manslaughter
  2. Accused must prove that given the same circumstances an oridnary person would be provoked into committing the offence
  3. Reverse onus of Proof
60
Q

What is Diminished Responsibility?

A

When the accused is suffering from a mental impairment, easier to prove than insanity

61
Q

What is a Peremtory Challenge?

A

A system that will disqualify individual jurors without having to give reason

62
Q

What is a Challenge for Cause?

A

Based on the person being not being qualified to serve on a jury

63
Q

What are arguements for juries?

A
  • Gives power to people over government
  • Extension of natural justice- innocent until proven guilty
  • Ensure the number of people who need to be convinces beyond reaosnable doubt is risk pooled, reducing the liklihood of 1 individual having a disproportionate impact
64
Q

What are arguments against juries?

A
  • Lack of transparency
  • Conclusion of guilt or inncocence based on appearance pr how emotively a particular barrister presents his or her arguement
  • Lawyers excluded from jury duty

Legal Studies (11 decks)

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