11 sanctions Flashcards
The principles of justice: fairness, access and equality
Fairness: having fair processes and a fair hearing
- parties should have an opportunity to know the facts of the case and present their side of events
- pre-hearing and hearing processes should be fair and impartial
Access: all people should be able to understand their legal rights and pursue their case
Equality: people should be equal before the law
- have an equal opportunity to present their case as anyone else, without advantage or disadvantage
Institutions that enforce criminal law, such as the police and delegated bodies
Police
- questioning possible suspects
Delegated bodies
- ATO investigates serious tax-related fraud offences and prosecutes summary offences
The balance between institutional powers and individual rights
Arrest
- power to use reasonable force when making an arrest
- right to refuse to attend to the police station unless they are under arrest
Questioning
- power to question within a reasonable time
- right to silence
Bail
- power to decide on whether to grant or refuse bail
- right to apply for bail
Court proceedings
- power to commence criminal action against an accused
- right presumption of innocence and legal aid
Imprisonment of offender
- power to imprison the offender for a period of time
- right to be in the open air for at least an hour each day
An overview of the role and criminal jurisdictions of Victorian courts
Magistrates’ Court: summary offences, indictable offences heard summarily & no appellate jurisdiction
County Court: indictable offences excluding deaths & Magistrates’ Court (sentence)
Supreme Court (Trial Division): serious indictable offences & Magistrates’ Court (law)
Supreme Court (Court of Appeal): County Court or Supreme Court
The role of the jury in a criminal trial
Jury of 12
- listen to all the evidence
- concentrate during the trial
- piece the evidence together and decide whether the accused is guilty or not guilty
The purposes of sanctions: DRPPRD (Dr Pepper Drink)
Punishment: penalise the offender and show society and the victim that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated
Deterrence:
- General deterrence: discourage others in the community from committing similar offences
- Specific deterrence: discourage the offender from committing similar offences
Denunciation: demonstrate the community’s disapproval of the offender’s actions
Protection: safeguard the community from an offender by preventing them from committing further offence
Rehabilitation: reform an offender to prevent them from committing offences in the future
Types of sanctions: FCI
Fine: offender pays an amount of money to the state
CCO: offender serves in the community with conditions attached to the order
Imprisonment: removes the offender from society for a period of time and places them in prison
Factors considered by judges in sentencing
Aggravating factors: factors about an offender or an offence that can lead to a more severe sentence
Mitigating factors: factors about the offender of the offence that leads to a less severe sentence
Aspects of sentencing factors in Victoria and one other jurisdiction
Victoria - Therapeutic justice (deal with offenders in a way that adddresses the underlying causes of crime and seeks to provide support to avoid further reoffending)
Norway - Restoratative justice (focuses on repairing the harm caused by the crime)
Alternative approaches to sentencing, such as the use of the Drug Court, the Koori Court and diversion programs
Drug Court: sentences offenders to a drug treament order where drugs or alcohol contributed to the commission of the offence
- DTO: aims to treat the underlying causes of offending which include both the treatment and custody of the offender
Koori Court: division of Magistrates’, County and Children’s Court that operates as a sentencing court for Indigenous people
Diversion program: method used in Magistrates’ and Children’s Court to divert offenders away from the court and avoid criminal record by placing them on a plan
Recent criminal case
DPP v Ristevski [2019]
- an overview of the charges and the central facts of the case
- courts that may be or were involved
- sanctions that could be or were imposed and their appropriateness
- factors that may be or were taken into consideration in sentencing
- possible avenues of appeal
- the extent to which the principles of justice were or could be achieved
