unit 1 aos3 Flashcards
sanction
a penalty imposed by a court on a person guilty of commiting a criminal offence
the 3 principles of justice
fairness, equality and access
fairness
fairness means all people can participate in the justice system and it’s processes should be impartial and open
3 features of fairness
impartial processes, open processes, participation
impartial processes
all people involved in the justice system must be independent and unbiased towards or against any party.
open processes
cases should be heard and decided in public, so that the community and the media can see justice being done
participation
the opportunity to know the case put against the parties, opportunity to prepare a defence, opportunity to examine a witness, the use of a lawyer, the use of an interpreter, without unreasonable delay
bias
a prejudice or lack of objectivity in relation to one person or group
apprehended bias
a situation in which a fair minded observer might reasonable believe that the person hearing or deciding a case may be bias
equality
people should be treated in the same way, but if the same treatment creates disadvantage, certain measures should be implemented to allow all to engage with the justice system.
access
means that all people should be able to engage with the justice system and its processes on an informed basis
engagement (access)
being able to use and participate in the justice system
institutions that enforce criminal law
police and other bodies including worksafe, local councils and VicRoads
the police
the role of the police is to serve the community and the law to enforce criminal law. they protect life, prevent crime, detect apprehenders and assist victims. includes victoria police and australian federal police.
delegated body
an authority or agency given power by parliament to make and/or enforce laws. includes victorian delegated bodies and commonwealth delegated bodies.
international treaty
a legally binding agreement between countries or intergovernmental organisations to include in their own laws.
institutional powers
the authority given to bodies such as victoria police to take certain actions
conviction
a finding of guilt made by the court, whether or not a conviction is recorded, it will form part of a person’s criminal record
imprisonment
a sanction that involves removing the offender from society for a stated period of time and placing them in prison
court hierarchy (in order)
magistrates, county, supreme (trial division), supreme (court of appeal), high court of australia
the role of the victorian courts is to..
determine a criminal case and impose a sanction
original jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear a case for the first time
appellate jurisdiction
the power of a court to hear a case on appeal
when are juries used?
in the original jurisdiction of the county and supreme court. Used to determine the guilt of a person charged of an indictable offence.
remand
where the accused is kept in custody until their criminal trial can take place
the role of the criminal jury
to listen to all the evidence, concentrate during the trial, piece the evidence together and decide whether the accused is guilty or not.
the 5 purposes of sanctions
punishment, deterrence, denunciation, protection and rehabilitation
punishment
to penalise the offender, and show society and the victim that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated
deterrence
to discourage the offender and others in the community from committing similar offences
denunciation
to demonstrate the community’s disapproval of the offender’s actions
protection
to safeguard the community from an offender by preventing them from committing a further offence
rehabilitation
to reform an offender in order to prevent them from committing offences in the future
general deterrence
to discourage others in the community from committing similar offences
specific deterrence
to discourage the offender from committing further offences
what are the 3 main types of sanctions?
Fines, Community Correction Orders (CCO) & Imprisonment
fine
a sanction that requires the offender to pay an amount of money to the state.
purpose of fines
The general purposes of fines are to punish the offender, deter the offender from committing further crimes and deter the general community from committing similar crimes
factors that can affect the effectiveness of fines
the financial status of the offender, the amount, whether people know about the fine
Community correction orders (CCO)
a flexible, non-custodial sanction that the offender serves in the community, with conditions attached to the order
purposes of cco’s
a punishment because it can impose conditions on an offender that are an annoyance can help to rehabilitate an offender.
factors that can affect the effectiveness of cco’s
the mandatory conditions, the optional conditions, the length and if the CCO is known to the public
imprisonment
a sanction that involves removing the offender from society for a stated period of time and placing them in prison
parole
the supervised and conditional release of a prisoner after the minimum period of imprisonment has been served
purposes of imprisonment
serves to both protect the community and punish the offender. Imprisonment also generally serves to act as a deterrent (both generally and specifically for the offender)
factors that affect the effectiveness of imprisonment
the length of the prison sentence, the offender and their circumstances, the conditions of the prison
aggravating factors
facts or circumstances about an offender or an offence that can lead to a more severe sentence
mitigating factors
facts or circumstances about the offender or the offence that can lead to a less severe sentence
factors that may decrease the sentence
early guilty plea, lack of prior offending, remorse
factors that may increase the sentence
prior offending, impact of the offence on any victim, injury loss or damage as a result of the offence
alternative sentencing approaches (3)
drug court, koori court and diversion programs
drug court
a specialist court that is able to impose a drug treatment order on an offender where drugs or alcohol contributed to the commission of the offence
koori court
a division of the Magistrates’ Court, Children’s Court and County Court that (in certain circumstances) operates as a sentencing court for First Nations people
diversion program
a method used in the Magistrates’ Court and Children’s Court to ‘redirect’ offenders away from the court and avoid a criminal record by placing them on a plan
