legal studies unit 1 Flashcards
(35 cards)
explain the drug court:
a specialised court established to treat and rehabilitate offenders with a substance dependency through imposing a drug and alcohol order, and improve community saftey.
criteria for eligibility fort he drug court:
- a dependancy on drugs or alcohol that directly contributed to the offence.
2.the offender is facing no more than 2 years imprisonment. - the offender has pleased guilty.
- the offender is not on parole.
- the offender is facing charges that aren’t sexual offences or involve the infliction if actual bodily harm.
strengths vs weaknesses of the drug court:
one strength is is allows the offender to remain in the community, allowing them to br with support networks often increasing their chances of rehabilitation.
one weakness is that there is a cap on the number of offenders who can be given a DTO per year as this treatment refuses a large amount of resources, such as financial resources.
explain the Koori court:
an alternative sentencing court for First Nations offenders who have pleaded guilty to their criminal offence, developed to take into account different cultural values. the approach taken in the Koori court is much less formal than traditional courts, encourages an open dialogue between parties and intends to prompt the offender into rethinking their decisons.
strengths vs weaknesses of the Koori court:
one strength of the Koori court is that it the informal atmosphere allows for greater participation by the offender and community elders in the court process, promoting access to the justice system. one weakness is that offenders Amy feel pressures into pleading guilty even if they aren’t in order to meet the conditions.
explain diversion programs:
alternatives to the court system that allows low-level offenders to avoid a criminal record, providing they make amends for their actions. thy aim to provide, predominately first time offenders, with the opportunity to no have their crimes on a criminal record.
criteria for diversion programs:
- the offence is a summary offence or indictable offence heard summarily.
- the offence is not subject to a mandatory or fixed penalty, eg a minimum fine.
- the offender takes responsibility, by pleading guilty.
- there’s suffiencet evidence for the case.
- the prosecution agrees to the diversion program.
conditions for a diversion program:
- an apology to the victim.
- rehabilitation through concealing or therapy.
- undertaking volunteer work.
- donating money or time to a charity or local community initiative.
- attending a defensive driving course or road safety seminar if the crime committed was a driving offence.
strengths and weaknesses of diversion programs:
ones strength is that the offenders individuals circumstances are reflected in the diversion plan, which promotes fairness. one weakness is that There can be a lack of consistency in the approval of diversion programs by police officers.
explain aggravating factors:
factors that consider an offence more serious, and will increase the severity of the sentence imposed. aggravating factors increase culpability.
examples of aggravating factors:
an offence being planned/premeditated, a weapon being used, committing an offence because of prejudice(hate crime), committing an offence I na group against an outnumbered victim, if the victim was particularly vulnerable eg a kid, if the offence occurred infant of children and if the offender has any prior convictions.
explain mitigating factors:
factors that consider an offence less severe and can decrease the severity of the offence and sentence.
examples of mitigating factors:
genuine remorse, the offence occurring due to provocation, the age of the offender - younger people have a higher chance of rehabilitation, a limited criminal history or no previous offences, cooperating with the police during the investigation, favourable prospects of rehabilitation or the offender having a particularly traumatic person history, eg alcoholism.
explain a guilty plea:
a full admission of guilt where an offender pleads guilty to an offence they’ve been charged with. after an offender has pleaded guilty to court will proceed to sentence them and consider the guilty plea as a mitigating factor.
benefits of a guilty plea:
the prosecution doesn’t have to prove the accuseds guilt, saves costs and time involved in a trial, victims an d accuseds avoid stress, trauma, time and costs, and the courts workload is reduced, minimising delays.
explain a victim impact statement:
a written or verbal statement made to the courts about the physical, emotional and economic effects of the offence upon the victim, allowing the judge to understand the full effects upon the victim. individuals who weren’t directly impacted by the offence may contribute to the VIS, eg family.
effect of a victim impact statement:
if the VIS indicated the offence greatly impacted a victim, the severity of the sanction may increase, or on the other hand if a victim demonstrates a level of forgiveness towards to offender, a less severe sanction could be imposed.
sanctions - fines:
a sanction that requires an offender to pay a sum of money as a penalty for a criminal offence, expressed on penalty units to ensure consistency.
when determining how much to fine an offender, courts consider the maximum and minimum penalty, the purpose the court wishes to achieve, aggravating and mitigating factors and the offenders ability to pay the fine.
sanctions - community corrections order:
a non-custodial sentence that requires offenders to undertake specific actions and abide by certain conditions, while still being permitted to stay in the community. the maximum length for a CCO for one offence is 2 years and for multiple offences is 5 years.
conditions for a community corrections order:
- the offence is punishable by 5 penalty units or more.
- they don’t think a fine is appropriate.
- the offender has agreed to a CCO
standard conditions vs additional conditions for a CCO:
standard conditions: the offender must no reoffend while the CCo is in place, the offender must not leave Victoria without permission and they must report to a community corrections centre and regular meet with their supervisor.
additional conditions: compete 600 or more hours of commit service work, abiding a curfew, undertaking medical treatment/rehabilitation programs, ceasing communications with certain individuals and not entering, remaining within or consuming alcohol in a licensed premises.
sanctions - imprisonment:
a sanction that removes an offender from the communist and places them in prison for a given period of time, depriving their liberty. imprisonment is the most severe sanction a court can impose and will usually provide a minimum period of imprisonment, after which an offender can apply for parole. when an offender is charged with multiple offences the judge will either impose a concurrent sentence or a cumulative sentence.
strengths vs weaknesses of a fine:
one strength of a fine is that the financial loss caused by a fine discourages other members of the community from committing similar offences, achieving general deterrence. one weakness is that rehabilitation is not achieved by a fine.
strengths vs weaknesses of a CCO:
one strength of a CCO is that yhe offender can be restricted from attending certain places, or from contacting specific people, thus promoting community safety. one weakness of a CCO is that if the impact of an offence is severe, such as a violent assault, a CCO may not punish an offender sufficiently, causing unjust outcomes for victims.
