U3 AOS1 The Australian Criminal Justice System (5)

Question 1

Concurrent sentencing

Answer 1

Concurrent sentences are served at the same time or simultaneously. For example, if an offender is given three years for burglary and one year for stealing, they would serve three years because the sentenced is served at the same time.

Question 2

Recidivism

Answer 2

Reoffending, returning to a crime after already having been convicted and sentenced.

Question 3

Indefinite sentencing

Answer 3

A sentence of imprisonment with no fixed end date. It can only be ordered for some indictable offences (e.g., murder, aggravated robbery etc) and only when a court is satisfied a sentenced person is a serious danger to the community. It must be reviewed periodically.

Question 4

Head sentence

Answer 4

A sentence of imprisonment (of 12 months or more) that may attract a non-parole period.

Question 5

Mitigating factors

Answer 5

Aspects of the crime and or the offender that makes the offender less culpable for their offending is regarded as less serious. For example, genuine remorse, or the crime was a result of provocation rather than premeditation.

Question 6

Aggravating factors

Answer 6

Aspects of an offence or the offender that render the offending more serious. For example, a crime that was planned and premeditated, or if a weapon was used in the course of committing a crime.

Question 7

Victim impact statement (VIS)

Answer 7

A written and/or verbal statement to the court about the impact of an offence upon the victim. ‘Impact’ may include physical, emotional and or financial loss caused by an offence, and ‘victim’ may include those directly impacted by an offence. This statement may include photographs to demonstrate the physical impact of an offence.

Question 8

Guilty pleas

Answer 8

When an accused person charged with multiple offences, chooses to plead guilty to some or all charges. When an accused person pleads guilty a trial will not be conducted and the court will instead proceed to sentence the offender.

Question 9

Benefits of an early guilty plea

Answer 9

Prosecution: Does not have to prove the guilt of the accused;
Society: Saves time and costs of conducting a trial;
Victims;
Victims: Do not have to dace the stress and trauma involved in going t trial
Reduces the risk of secondary victimisation from giving evidence;
Accused: Do not have to face the stress, time and costs involved in going to trial;
Courts: Workloads are reduced minimising delays in other criminal matters that go to trial;

Question 10

Guilty plea

Answer 10

A full admission by an accused person of an offence for which they have been charged.

Question 11

Sentencing discount

Answer 11

If a court imposes a less severe sanction because the offender entered a guilty plea, the court is required to state the extent to which they have reduced the sentence as a result of this plea. That is, the court must not only state the sentence imposed, but the sentence that would have been imposed if the offender had pleaded ‘not guilty’ and was then convicted at the conclusion of a trial. The earlier in the proceedings the accused person pleads guilty, the greater the discount applied to their sentence.

Question 12

List all the factors that affect the principles of justice being achieved

Answer 12

Cost, time, and cultural differences

Question 13

Justice

Answer 13

Due punishment when a criminal is sentences for a crime that is primarily focused on strong retribution and deterrence.

Question 14

The applicability of orders to pay a sum of money to the victim

Answer 14

Such orders are only made in a small proportion of all cases as most offenders have a limited capacity to pay so the victims instead seek compensation through the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal. If such an order is made, it becomes a debt the offender must pay to the victim.

Question 15

Barrister’s fees

Answer 15

A fee for the presentation of a defence case at trial even if cases can be resolved prior to a trial being conducted in which a barrister will present legal arguments and examine witnesses.

Question 16

Appealing to a higher court

Answer 16

An offender seeking to appeal against the guilty verdict, or the sanction imposed will need to pay the filing fee in the appeal court, meet the costs of a solicitor preparing written documentation about the appeal and the costs of a barrister in presenting the legal arguments to the judges in the appeal court.

Question 17

Witness fees

Answer 17

A fee required to be paid to expert witnesses if calling them to the stand could perhaps challenge the evidence presented by the prosecution’s expert witness (e.g., forensic evidence).

Question 18

How is fairness achieved despite cost issues?

Answer 18

Judges in the County Court and the Supreme Court have the power to order VLA to provide a lawyer to those who cannot afford legal representation, to ensure they receive a fair trial; Discounted sentences for accused person who plead guilty which occurs for all offenders regardless of personal characteristics.

Question 19

How is access achieved despite cost issues?

Answer 19

Though VLA’s resources are limited, they do provide legal representation to very poor accused persons charged with serious offences, promoting access.

Question 20

How is equality achieved despite cost issues?

Answer 20

If interpreters are needed in the courts, the prosecution organises and pays for these avoiding costs to the accused person.

Question 21

Why are delays undesirable in the resolution of the criminal case?

Answer 21

The community remains at risk if those charged with violent offences remain in the community prior to a trial. Therefore, community protection is improved if matters are resolved more quickly; while a growing number of offenders charged with violent offences are on remand in Victoria, this will not always be the case; Criminal trials rely on oral evidence, but as memories fade over time the accuracy and reliability of such evidence may be diminished, or evidence lost if memories fade completely;

Question 22

Sources of delay in the courts

Answer 22

Time taken to appeal judgements and sentences, creating a delay in the final resolution of a case; Court backlogs, with the Victorian courts’ caseload growing more rapidly than the funding for the courts’ judges and staff; A hung jury or mistrial;

Question 23

Hung jury

Answer 23

If a majority verdict cannot be reached there is a hung jury meaning that the accused has not been found either guilty or not guilty and can be tried at a later date.

Question 24

Unanimous verdict

Answer 24

A jury verdict where all the jury members (i.e., all 12 jurors) are in agreement and decide the same way (e.g., all agree the accused is guilty).

Question 25

Majority verdict

Answer 25

A jury verdict where all but one of the members of the jury agree with the decision. This means that 11 of the 12 jurors agree.

Question 26

How is access achieved despite of time issues?

Answer 26

Relatively few matters are resolved by jury trial, so the delays associated with juries are limited to a small number of criminal cases.

Question 27

How is fairness achieved despite time issues?

Answer 27

Sentence indications and plea negotiations encourage early resolution of many criminal matters without a trial.

Question 28

How is equality achieved despite time issues?

Answer 28

Committal proceedings ensure the County Court and Supreme Court are not ‘clogged up’ by conducting trials in cases where there is no likelihood of a conviction, minimising delays in such cases.

Question 29

Who is considered affected by cultrual differences?

Answer 29

Asylum seekers, refugees, and recent immigrants;

Question 30

Having a lack of knowledge of Victoria’s legal system may lead to..

Answer 30

Not knowing the certain rights, they have as a victim; Not knowing they are entitled to legal representation if defending a charge in courts or how to access legal representation, (e.g., they may not know how VLA and or CLC’s assist them); If they are self-representing, they may not know they are entitled to present evidence in their own defence;

Question 31

Speaking little or no English may lead to..

Answer 31

May result in court misunderstanding circumstances relating to an offence, given the reliance on oral evidence in Victorian courts, causing ‘incorrect’ outcome; and difficulty giving evidence at trial, especially if self-representing in defence of a charge;

Question 32

Refugees may not trust the police, courts, etc. due to traumatic experiences in the country they have had to leave which may lead to..

Answer 32

May be unwilling to report crime to police due to lack of trust; and may be unwilling to speak truthfully to police and/or the courts, instead giving incomplete or inaccurate responses to questioning;

Question 33

Cultural differences as a factor that affects the principles of justice

Answer 33

A number of different groups within society that may have difficulty engaging with the justice system due to their cultural background.

Question 34

Language barriers

Answer 34

Differences in the way some words are used in Indigenous dialects can cause misunderstandings.

Question 35

Direct questioning

Answer 35

The commonly used question and answer method of investigation can be inappropriate for some indigenous people.

Question 36

Body language

Answer 36

Direct eye contact can be seen as disrespectful by some Indigenous people.