Unit 4 AOS 2 (Criminal and civil law) Flashcards
What is bail?
When a suspect who has been charged for a criminal offence is released from custody into society until the time of their hearing or trial. It is usually accompanied by an agreement or surety to assure the accused will appear in court.
On what 5 grounds can bail be refused?
- If the accused is charged with murder,treason, or serious drug matters (although it is in some circumstances)
- If the accused is already in custody
- If it is believed the accused is likely to abscond
- If it is believed the accused will reoffend
- If it is believed the accused will harm himself,others or evidence
How does bail achieve an element of an effective legal system?
Fair and Unbiased-
As it upholds the principle of innocent until proven guilty, However the rights of those accused do need to be balanced with the right of society to be protected
What is remand?
Remand is when an accused person is refused bail and held in custody until the time of their trial when their innocence or guilt is determined.
How does remand achieve an element of an effective legal system?
-fair and just
maintaining the rights of society to be protected, restricting the accused from tampering with any evidence which may alter the result of their trial, protects the accused from harming themselves or another
-timely resolution of disputes
Can prevent delays which would be associated with the accused absconding or tampering with evidence
What is a committal hearing?
A pre trial procedure of indictable offences, exists to decide if a ‘prima facie’ case exists, meaning whether the prosecution has sufficient evidence to support a conviction as well as bringing forward and clarifying legal issues.
How does a committal hearing achieve an element of an effective legal system?
-timely resolution of disputes
Avoids wasting time and expenses in the court by taking a case to trial that is unlikely to succeed because of a weak case or insufficient evidence
To bring forward the legal issues in dispute in order to clarify any misconceptions
What are the five general purposes of criminal sanctions?
-Just Punishment
so that victims or their families can feel as though justice has been served and are therefore less likely to take the law into their own hands.
Deterrence
to deter the offender and others in society from committing the same or similar offences in the future
Rehabilitation
to help offenders change their ways. In providing offenders with improved opportunities in the form of education, training, assistance and support, the legal system hopes that offenders will become law-abiding citizens.
Protection
To protect the community by removing the offender from society to prevent further harm or damage
Denunciation
To demonstrate the court and the whole of society’s disapproval of this behaviour in which the offender engaged in
What is imprisonment?
The most severe sanction the Victorian legal system uses in which a person is held in custody in a prision for an extended period of time, removing their freedom and liberty
What are purposes of sanctions which imprisonment fulfil?
- Effective at punishing offenders as it takes their freedoms and liberties away from them
- Effective at protecting the community as it physically removes offenders from the community so they cannot commit further crimes and put society in danger
- Effective at denunciating the crime committed by sending a clear disapproval by imposing the court’s most severe sanction on them
What are purposes of sanctions which imprisonment fails to fulfil?
In theory imprisonment should be highly effective rehabilitation due to programs in jail designed to equip prisoners with the skills they need to successfully rejoin society as law abiding citizens, it should also be equally as effective at deterring as it is the most severe of all the sanctions as it leads to such an extreme loss of liberty. However, in practice the recidivism rates of prisoners are over 50% and crimes punishable by imprisonment still continuously occur
What are fines?
A specified amount of money which is ordered to be paid to the courts by the offender with out without conviction
What are purposes of sanctions which fines fulfil?
- Effective at punishing as it leads to a financial loss
- Fear of loss of money deters offenders from committing the crime
- Can denunciate imposing a large fine can emphasises how much a court disapproves of the crime
What are purposes of sanctions which fines fail to fulfil?
- May not punish offenders if the cost is too low, or the person is too wealthy to be affected, as there is no equity to the system and therefore those accused are charged the exact same amount no matter their financial situation- limiting the success
- Does not rehabilitate offender
- Does not necessarily protect society
