Victorian Criminal Justice System Flashcards
(33 cards)
Equality
means people should be equal before the law and have the same opportunities as everyone else, without advantage or disadvantage
Fairness
means people should be involved in impartial court proceedings and hearings e.g. both parties knowing the information on a case
Access
means all people should have knowledge and ability to reach for certain needs in the legal system such as access to a legal aid or access to VCAT etc
Summary offence
a less serious offence generally heard in the Magistrates court e.g. road traffic offences, drug offences, disorderly behaviour
Indictable offence
a serious offence that is generally heard before a judge and jury in the County and Supreme court e.g. murder, rape, arson
Burden of proof
the obligation (responsibility) of a party to prove a case. Rests with the prosecution in a criminal case
Standard of proof
the extent to which a case must be proved in court.
Criminal law - ‘beyond reasonable doubt’
The presumption of innocence
the right of a person accused to be labelled innocent until proven guilty in court
Rights of an accused
- right to be tried without unreasonable delay
- right to a fair hearing
- right to trial by jury
Rights of a victim
- right to give evidence as a vulnerable witness
- right to be informed about the proceedings
- right to be informed of the likely release date of the accused
specialisation
- A hierarchy means that judges gain experience in dealing frequently in a particular area of law.
- Important for serious offences – courts build up specialisation skills in hearing those types of cases e.g. homicide-related offences.
appeals
- If an individual believes an error has been made in their case, there is a pathway for review.
- Important to concept of innocence and FAIR HEARING – if an error has been made then a person must have the right to appeal the decision.
judge responsibilities
Manage the trial:
- The judge must make sure that correct court procedure is followed so that both parties have an equal opportunity to present their case.
Attend to jury matters:
- At any time during a trial, the judge may address the jury about the issues in the trial, the relevance of any admissions made, or any other matter that may be relevant to the jury, including giving a direction to the jury about any issue of law.
jury responsibilities
Be objective:
- The jury must be unbiased and bring an open mind to the task, putting aside any prejudices or preconceived ideas.
Consider the evidence:
- The jury members will need to able to make sense of all this evidence and remember the evidence
Understand directions and summing up:
- At the conclusion of a trial, the judge will give directions to the jury about issues or points of law, and will sum up the case. The jury is required to listen to the directions and the summing up given by the judge, and can ask for an explanation about any legal point they don’t understand.
Deliver a verdict:
- The jury must take part in the deliberations in the jury room and form an opinion about which party’s story or arguments they believe.
role of judge
- They can ask some clarifying questions, and give a bit of guidance to self represented parties about procedure, but cannot help the party run their case.
- the judge must act impartially, not favour any side, and must have no connection with the prosecution or the accused.
- If a judge cannot faithfully execute these duties, then they must recuse from the trial.
role of jury
- The jury system is a trial by peers. The idea being that you should be judged by ‘regular people’.
- The jury system provides the opportunity for community participation in the legal process, and for the law to be applied according to community standards.
- The criminal jury is the decider of the facts. In other words, it makes a decision about which facts it believes to be true
- A criminal jury comprises 12 jurors. Jurors are chosen randomly from people eligible to vote and who are on the electoral roll.
purposes of sanctions
If the accused is found guilty, or if they have pleaded guilty to the charge(s), the judge/magistrate will decide on an appropriate sanction.
rehabilitation
- Rehabilitation is the treatment of an offender to address the underlying reasons for the offender committing the crime in the first place.
punishment
- Punishment gives the community some revenge against an offender.
- The victim and community must feel as though justice has been served, this can occur through punishing the offender.
deterrence
- discourages certain actions as offenders could have a fear of the punishment imposed on them
- Some sanctions are aimed at discouraging other people from committing similar crimes = general deterrence. This means society as a whole is discouraged from engaging in this type of behaviour.
- Sanctions may also be specific to the individual from committing the same offence again = specific deterrence.
denunciation
- Denunciation is the disapproval of a court towards the actions of the accused.
Courts may impose a particular sanction to show the community that the court disapproves of the offender’s conduct.
protection
- Protection aims to safeguard the community from the offender.
- At times, it is necessary to remove an offender from the community (put them in prison) to achieve protection, because the offender is physically unable to reoffend as they are in restrained.
aggravating factors
- Aggravating factors are circumstances about the offender, or offence, that may increase the seriousness of the offence (or the offenders culpability). E.g. a sexual assault is worse if committed by a person of trust – doctor/teacher/priest etc.
- If an aggravating factor is present, a harsher sentence should be imposed.
mitigating factors
- Mitigating factors are circumstances that a court should consider when determining an appropriate sentence.
- Mitigating factors help reduce the seriousness of the offence or the offenders culpability.
