HSC Legal Studies Question Thread

[ameliabrennan5]

Hi there,

I'm currently sitting staring at an essay question that i don't even know where to begin to answer.

It has a statement with it and i am not sure how to incorporate the statement into the essay, how i should structure my response or what LCMID to use? Please help me

Thanks, Amelia

This is the statement:
Over time this Parliament, as the representative of the community, and the courts have given police certain powers required to effectively fulfil their role in law enforcement. In return for these powers, however, police are required to exercise their power responsibly, particularly when these powers affect the civil liberties of members of the community whom the police serve.

This is the question:
To what extent does the criminal investigation process balance the rights of victims, suspects and society?

[fantasticbeasts3]

Hi there,

I'm currently sitting staring at an essay question that i don't even know where to begin to answer.

It has a statement with it and i am not sure how to incorporate the statement into the essay, how i should structure my response or what LCMID to use? Please help me

Thanks, Amelia

This is the statement:
Over time this Parliament, as the representative of the community, and the courts have given police certain powers required to effectively fulfil their role in law enforcement. In return for these powers, however, police are required to exercise their power responsibly, particularly when these powers affect the civil liberties of members of the community whom the police serve.

This is the question:
To what extent does the criminal investigation process balance the rights of victims, suspects and society?

Hi Amelia, welcome to the forums!

You should mention the statement in your introduction and form it as part of your thesis (and throughout your essay)! Provided you mention it throughout your response, you’ll be just fine. As it addresses police powers, you will have to talk about this in relation to how it affects victims, suspects and society.

It’s really up to you on how to structure your essay but I would start with police powers because that’s what the statement is about. Then you could move on to other parts of the criminal investigation process and make an assessment on their impact on victims, suspects and society. As for LCMs, I can’t think of any at the top of my head but literally just google something like “police powers cases nsw” and something should pop up. Make sure to integrate case studies throughout your essay!

I hope this helps!

[jimmyjay]

Hey I'm new to this site so I'm not sure if i'm posting correctly nonetheless I'm in dying need of help.
My teacher assigned us 4 essays to complete by the end of the holidays and with one week to go I've yet to complete one. Just looking for points/arguments for the following questions.

-Evaluate the effectiveness of sentencing and punishment as a means of achieving justice.
-Assess the effectiveness of the criminal justice system when dealing with young offenders.
-To what extent does criminal law balance the rights of victims, offenders and society?

Any legislation and cases would be helpful but otherwise thank you in advance

[meerae]

Hey I'm new to this site so I'm not sure if i'm posting correctly nonetheless I'm in dying need of help.
My teacher assigned us 4 essays to complete by the end of the holidays and with one week to go I've yet to complete one. Just looking for points/arguments for the following questions.

-Evaluate the effectiveness of sentencing and punishment as a means of achieving justice.
-Assess the effectiveness of the criminal justice system when dealing with young offenders.
-To what extent does criminal law balance the rights of victims, offenders and society?

Any legislation and cases would be helpful but otherwise thank you in advance

Hi jimmyjay!
Welcome to the forums!
So in order to tackle these questions I'd look over the syllabus dot points for each question. I'll list out how I'd answer each question below;

Evaluate the effectiveness of sentencing and punishment as a means of achieving justice.
When looking at effectiveness: note down the pros and cons of each dot point in the chapter.
Dot points in this chapter;
Statutory/judicial guidelines - can be controversial because of mandatory sentencing (look at cases regarding one punch killings and the killing of police officers)
Purposes of Punishment - briefly discuss the reasons for punishment and when evaluating its effectiveness look at cases such as R v AEM and McCartney v R. Discuss issues with punishing one person more severely than others as it may be seen as an injustice if it fails to achieve its only purpose and the  difficulty in determining who will reoffend and who will not.
Factors affecting a sentencing decision - this dot point is about aggravating and mitigating factors - I would touch on it briefly and talk about how it is effective in looking at individual circumstances when deciding a sentence
Role of the victim - this part of sentencing is controversial as court may hand down different punishments for the same crime based on how the victim was affected. Cases include R v Tuala and R v Thomas
Appeals - I would briefly touch on how these ensure justice is served as they occur when there is a miscarriage of justice or an error in law
Types of penalties - not necessary to go into for this question
Alternative methods of sentencing - circle sentencing has been seen as effective but can be improved. effectiveness of restorative justice is unknown
Post-sentencing considerations - I would touch on all of them but go in depth with preventative and continued detention as its controversial.
Remember to evaluate effectiveness throughout your entire essay, I would recommend doing it at the beginning and end of each body paragraph for each dot point and then in the conclusion for an overall effectiveness. Also, you must go through the good AND the bad, not one or the other.

Assess the effectiveness of the criminal justice system when dealing with young offenders.
This question is very similar to the one above however, on young offenders. I have a small table on the overall effectiveness of the legal system dealing with young offenders, but of course ensure you evaluate each dot point.
Factors which help ensure overall effectiveness;
-   Age of criminal responsibility recognises children do not have the mental capacity to truly form criminal intent
-   Children are given greater protection under the law when questioned or arrested
-   Children’s court proceedings designed to protect children, whilst holding them accountable
-   Separate detention centres protect them from negative impact of hardened adult criminals
-   Sentencing alternatives divert young offenders from court

Factors which limit overall effectiveness
-   Some argue the age of criminal responsibility is too high
-   Some see sentencing alternatives as soft options

Within this essay I would discuss the age of criminal responsibility. the rights of children when being questioned/arrested, penalties for children and alternatives to court. Again, ensure you assess effectiveness throughout your entire essay, not just at the end of each paragraph.

To what extent does criminal law balance the rights of victims, offenders and society?
This question relates to the entire crime part of the syllabus, and VOS is a theme and challenge. When answering this question I recommend going through each chapter and making VOS tables for each applicable dot point. See how each chapter would affect the victim, offenders and society in each situation and see how the law attempts to balance these rights. Think of concepts like the rule of law and the presumption of innocence.

Feel free to PM me  if you need any help or post your essays in the marking and feedback area of the forums
Hope this helped!
meerae

[abdulrahmanb8]

Hey I'm new to this site so I'm not sure if i'm posting correctly nonetheless I'm in dying need of help.
My teacher assigned us 4 essays to complete by the end of the holidays and with one week to go I've yet to complete one. Just looking for points/arguments for the following questions.

-Evaluate the effectiveness of sentencing and punishment as a means of achieving justice.
-Assess the effectiveness of the criminal justice system when dealing with young offenders.
-To what extent does criminal law balance the rights of victims, offenders and society?

Any legislation and cases would be helpful but otherwise thank you in advance

Sentencing and Punishment-

- Mandatory sentencing, which is effective in retributing and incapacitating the offender adequately. However, since it restricts judicial discretion, it inhibits the judges ability to consider individual circumstances and ultimately has little deterrent value.

- Types of penalties- Imprisonment has little deterrent value, while effectively retrubtuing and incapacitating the offender, recividism rates are high for ex-prisoners. Diversionary programs- move from a retributive to a rehabilitative justice system, the Drug Court and Cannabis Cautionary Scheme are both effective in deterring offenders from court, lessening recidivism and increasing case efficiency. However, they may lack enforceability to some extent (eg. Only 40% of offenders end up attending educative seminars of the CCS) and fail to adequately retribute the offender.

-  Post sentencing considerations- eg. Sexual offenders registration may help society remain protected but could infringe on the offenders right to privacy. Security classification (as decided by Corrective services) is an effective way of ensuring the offender's prison environment suits the severity of their crime. Preventative detention is particularly contentious, as it upholds society's needs but hinders the presumption of innocence and rights such as liberty and freedom for the offender.

Young Offenders-

-Age of criminal responsibility- mention dolli  incapax (10-14 rebuttable presumption) and conclusive presumption (under 10), these do well to account for the lesser cognitive development and intellect of a child. However, the age of criminal responsibility (10) has been criticized for being too high and defying international standards, which deems the age 12 to be an "absolute minimum" (UNHRC)

-Alternatives to court- Cautions, warnings and YJCs are all effective in recognizing arrest as a last resort (ICCPR), steering young offenders from the stressful, pressuring process of going to court. It also reduces court traffic and recognizes the need for young offenders be treated in a specialized manner in accordance to their lesser criminal culpability. However YJCs have been criticized to have 'little practical effect' and thus may encourage recividism in some cases.

-The Childrens Court- specialised magistrate and less formal proceedings helps to create a more comfortable and welcoming environment for the offender. Also, the lack of public/media scrutiny protects the identity of the offender, ensuring further opportunities for the offender arent affected by their crime. Also, the offender will be granted legal aid without question, since arguing his/her own case would likely be beyond their capability at such age.

Balancing rights-

Bail- holding an offender in remand ensures protecting of society and the victim, but could impede on the offender's rights to freedom and being deemed innocent until proven guilty (A11 UDHR). This imbalance of rights is constantly trying to be addressed via  a series of reforms, yet bail still remains highly contentious (largely due to the Monis and Hawi cases)

Diversionary Programs- the law effectively balance the rights of all three parties, society and the victim benefit from being exposed to an offender who is less likely to reoffend and is more rehabilitated. The offender is driven away from more serious penalty options. Eg. Drug Court, Cannabis Cautioning Scheme etc.

Defences- particularly controversial is the defence of provocation. In the infamous case of R V Singh, the offender got convicted for manslaughter and got 6 years in prison, after killing his wife and claiming it to be due to her claiming she loved someone else. This inadequately reflects the severity of his actions and significantly impedes society and victims' rights to protection and a fair and effective justice system. Thus, Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Act 2014 was passed, stating the deceased's actions must amount to a serious indicatable offence and actually have caused the offender to lose control. This better reflects moral and ethical standards, and is a more effective way of the legal system balancing rights for successfully.

Hope this helps
I didnt really include the LCMs but you can find heaps in the notes section on this site anyway.

[chloewaine]

Hello, this is my first post so i hope i am doing this right!
I was just wondering if anyone knew of a good case study i could use that shows how victim ipact statements can negatively affect sentencing, in a way that unduly prejudices the defendant at sentencing? Trying to use it an a pargapraph explaining the tension between community interests and individual rights and freedoms 

[meerae]

Hello, this is my first post so i hope i am doing this right!
I was just wondering if anyone knew of a good case study i could use that shows how victim ipact statements can negatively affect sentencing, in a way that unduly prejudices the defendant at sentencing? Trying to use it an a pargapraph explaining the tension between community interests and individual rights and freedoms 

Hey, chloewaine!
Welcome to the forums!
I tried looking online for any case studies but had no luck, so I had a look for media articles that would support what you're trying to prove. I found these;
From SMH: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-problem-with-victim-impact-statements-20160612-gph974.html
From UNSW Law Journal: http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/30-3-16.pdf
From The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/dec/04/comment.prisonsandprobation

Hope these helped!
meerae

[GeorgiaManning]

Hi everyone,

I have a legal essay on 'Evaluate the role of discretion in the criminal justice system'.

I wanted to do a paraghaph of society / individual, police and judicial. However, I'm lacking points for the discretion of society besides reporting crimes.

Can anyone suggest any others?? I have some negative but not many positive points.

Thank youuuu

[abdulrahmanb8]

For societal/individual, you could mention:

- Victim's discretion to provide a VIS for certain offences
- Jury's discretion to decide on a verdict (guilty or not guilty)
- Accused/Prosecution's discretion to engage in a charge negotiation
- Discretion of suspects in terms of right to silence etc during investigation period
- Discretion to appeal a case

[avocadinq]

Hello! Just wondering for the learn to q's part of human rights - what's the difference between "outline how human rights have changed and developed overtime" and "examine major human rights documents and explain their contribution to the development of human rights"?

[katie,rinos]

Hello! Just wondering for the learn to q's part of human rights - what's the difference between "outline how human rights have changed and developed overtime" and "examine major human rights documents and explain their contribution to the development of human rights"?

Hey,
With the 'outline how human rights have changed over time', that's looking at the areas such as the abolition of slavery, trade unionism/labour rights, universal suffrage, universal education, self-determination, environmental and peace rights. You could be asked a short answer question on one of these specific areas or more broadly, where you talk about a few of them.

With the "examine major human rights documents and explain their contribution to the development of human rights" you are looking at documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and how human rights are protected because of it. You may need to look at how effective these documents have been and what legislations have come out of it.

Hope this helps

[avocadinq]

Hey,
With the 'outline how human rights have changed over time', that's looking at the areas such as the abolition of slavery, trade unionism/labour rights, universal suffrage, universal education, self-determination, environmental and peace rights. You could be asked a short answer question on one of these specific areas or more broadly, where you talk about a few of them.

With the "examine major human rights documents and explain their contribution to the development of human rights" you are looking at documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and how human rights are protected because of it. You may need to look at how effective these documents have been and what legislations have come out of it.

Hope this helps

Thanks for your response! A follow up question - for "examine major human rights documents and explain their contribution to the development of human rights" does this include historical documents (eg. magna carta) as well as formal documents (eg. udhr)?

[meerae]

Thanks for your response! A follow up question - for "examine major human rights documents and explain their contribution to the development of human rights" does this include historical documents (eg. magna carta) as well as formal documents (eg. udhr)?

Hey!

I believe it would include anything that helped the development of human rights, even historical documents.
I would include everything, as to lessen the chance of losing marks in an exam.

Hope this helped!
meerae

[justwannawish]

Hey guys!

I'm not entirely sure whether this is the correct place for this, but I just started Law at uni (without taking legal studies ) and got a quiz to do. It's not marked but it won't let me go onto the next question if I don't get this one right (and it's not telling me where i went wrong either) so I was hoping someone could help? it's to categorise these items into primary secondary and hybrid sources.

This is what I put down

Primary
- Court judgement
- Act of Parliament
- Bill of Parliament
- Case notes
- ruling by a former judge at an arbitration

Hybrid
- Royal Commission Report
- ATO public rulings
- Minister's Second Reading speech
- Law report judgement
- Local government ordinances
- Court rules
-explanatory memorandum
 Press release
- Annotated act
- looseleaf/electronic service
- forms and precedent
- law reform commission report
- Judge's speech to the Law Society or Bar association or student law society
- textbook authored by a judge and cited in many judgements

Secondary
- Textbook
- Journal article
- Journal Index
- law school or court or law firm blog
- legal encylopedia
- Case digest
- Federal government Department of Social Security guidelines

I know that was a lot of stuff, but I would be grateful for any help or recategorisations! I've already spent two hours trying to fix the answers but I'm still a bit confused on which ones are the wrong answers! Thank you to anyone who can help!

[henrychapman]

Hi everyone,

I have a legal essay on 'Evaluate the role of discretion in the criminal justice system'.

I wanted to do a paraghaph of society / individual, police and judicial. However, I'm lacking points for the discretion of society besides reporting crimes.

Can anyone suggest any others?? I have some negative but not many positive points.

Thank youuuu

Hey there,
This was more or less the question in the 2018 HSC and I also had it in my semester 1 exam.
My structure was as follows.
1.  Police discretion --> limiting it is a good thing because it means both society and the police are on the same page in terms of expectations in regards to the police's job. Use LEPRA legislation and police annual report 2015/16: community satisfaction increased from 82% to 91%
2. Mandatory sentencing --> limits discretion = bad because they each case should be determined on its own (i.e all cases are different depending on agg and mit factors). Use Thomas Kelly case and lockout laws as an example.
3. introduction of new punishment (intensive correction orders etc). increases discretion= good because it means an appropriate punishment can be found for the offender that allows them to be reintegrated properly back into society and therefore reduce the likelihood of them committing a crime in the future.
I know this was super fast but send a message if you need clarification