HSC Legal Studies Question Thread

[elysepopplewell]

Hi!

When does a case that is appealed go to the Court of Criminal Appeal or the next court with appellate jurisdiction? I'm a bit confused when thinking about this.

Hey Vinny, I'm sorry I'm just a little unclear on your question! Do you mean, what dictates whether the case goes to the CCA or the next court with appellate jurisdiction? Like, how do they decide which court it goes to? Or, what is the process of appeal?

Sorry! Let me know and I'll try my best to answer

Hey Elyse, i have my legal half yearly coming up and i got the question for my crime extended response: "To what extent has criminal law reform been effective in achieving justice?". It is worth 15 marks and i am aiming to get a mark in the A range. I was just wondering if you had any advice on what to include and how to strucutre it, e.g how many different examples of law reform i should include. Thanks heaps

Hey angel!
I'll give you some examples of law reform that comes to mind:
-Toonen and Croome cases (really good! Lots of info on this!)
-R V Bilal Skaf case triggered law reform on aggravated sexual assault in company
-Mandatory sentencing for police officers
-Mandatory sentencing for one punch attacks (you could argue this quite easily to be ineffective law reform, whereas the others are more effective law reform, just because there's so much debate for you to play devil's advocate).

If there are specific statistics available for any of these (has it decreased crime, for example), then I'd tie them in. But something like the Skaf reform was about addressing an area of the law that lacked, rather than hoping to decrease the crime. It was about making the crime legislated to be punishable to the extent it needs to be. I'd be focusing perhaps on one specific law reform per paragraph, (or if it stills into two paragraphs no biggy) and then make sure you're using themes and challenges in there and talk about WHO it is effective for - the victim? the suspect? society? Who benefits from law reform and who doesn't?

[Vinnnnnnyyyyyy]

Hey Vinny, I'm sorry I'm just a little unclear on your question! Do you mean, what dictates whether the case goes to the CCA or the next court with appellate jurisdiction? Like, how do they decide which court it goes to? Or, what is the process of appeal?

Sorry! Let me know and I'll try my best to answer

Yes, I'd like to know the answer to all these questions haha!

[Vinnnnnnyyyyyy]

Wanted to edit my last post but the edits didn't go through after waiting more than 12 hours. Anyway, I also wanted to ask:

In the 2014 HSC MC section - Q10 - "Peter, while under the influence of drugs, has caused the death of another person. He is charged with murder.

Which court will be the first to hear the charge against Peter?

A) Drug Court
B) Local Court
C) Supreme Court
D) Coroner's Court

I thought the answer would be C but the solutions say it's B. Can you please explain why this is the case? Thanks!

[jamonwindeyer]

In the 2014 HSC MC section - Q10 - "Peter, while under the influence of drugs, has caused the death of another person. He is charged with murder.

Which court will be the first to hear the charge against Peter?

A) Drug Court
B) Local Court
C) Supreme Court
D) Coroner's Court

I thought the answer would be C but the solutions say it's B. Can you please explain why this is the case? Thanks!

Hey Vinny! It would definitely go to the Supreme Court, but first it needs a committal hearing to determine whether adequate evidence exists to proceed to trial, and these take place in the Local Court - That's what it is B!

[elysepopplewell]

Yes, I'd like to know the answer to all these questions haha!

Haha! Great
Well..
The District Court can hear appeals against Local Court and Children's Court decisions. So if something is appealed from the later two courts, it goes to the District Court.
Appeals against District Court decisions go to the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Co​urt of NSW​, depending on the type of case in question.

So, to avoid congestion, if something is appealed from the Local Court or Children's Court, it does to the District Court. But if it cannot be satisfied there, and is appealed, it will most likely go to the Courts of Appeal.

"The Court of Appeal is the final court of appeal in New South Wales. The Court of Appeal hears applications for leave to appeal and appeals from single judges of the Supreme Court and from other NSW courts and tribunals. It has both appellate and supervisory jurisdiction in respect of all other courts in the State system.  "

But....what happens if you want to appeal something from the Court of Appeal?

"Appeals against decisions of the Court of Appeal are made to the High Court of Australia in matters of public or general importance. However, before the appeal can progress, the applicant must first obtain the High Court's leave to proceed." Info taken from here.

Here is a list of current cases in the High Court, including some appeals!

It's a long process, and it's important to know the understanding of how things move up through different courts, but it's unlikely that you'd need to know this all in perfect detail

[Wales]

Dear Jamon,

Last time you successfully predicted WORD FOR WORD the question for my Term 1 Exam. Next week is my half yearlies and I wish to seek your wisdom once again.

The topic is Crime. A bit broad but I'd like to hear some predictions as to commonly asked exam questions. I've looked through some papers but I'd love to hear your insight too Same goes to anybody who has some idea of possible questions and some strong points I should definitely bring up in the essay.

Cheers, Wales

[jamonwindeyer]

Dear Jamon,

Last time you successfully predicted WORD FOR WORD the question for my Term 1 Exam. Next week is my half yearlies and I wish to seek your wisdom once again.

The topic is Crime. A bit broad but I'd like to hear some predictions as to commonly asked exam questions. I've looked through some papers but I'd love to hear your insight too Same goes to anybody who has some idea of possible questions and some strong points I should definitely bring up in the essay.

Cheers, Wales

Hey Wales! You should check out the themes and challenges on Page 17 of the syllabus - They are common avenues for questions beyond the basic "talk about international crime" type questions!

For what it is worth - I think law reform could be a strong candidate for the HSC exam this year (going for three straight years of predicting the Crime question ), but that doesn't mean you'll get it now. Don't be surprised if it is just a simple question on one of the topic areas (sentencing, young offenders, etc) - But if it isn't one of those, it will be a theme/challenge!

[elysepopplewell]

Dear Jamon,

Last time you successfully predicted WORD FOR WORD the question for my Term 1 Exam. Next week is my half yearlies and I wish to seek your wisdom once again.

The topic is Crime. A bit broad but I'd like to hear some predictions as to commonly asked exam questions. I've looked through some papers but I'd love to hear your insight too Same goes to anybody who has some idea of possible questions and some strong points I should definitely bring up in the essay.

Cheers, Wales

My bets are on Law Reform too, or another theme or challenge.
My year 12 half yearly was on the role of discretion, particularly in sentencing! It sounds obscure and I certainly didn't expect it to be a question. So I'm throwing it out there as a possibility to warn you!

[kiiaaa]

Hi! Im extremely confused about what is discretion and how does it help the legal system? thank you very very much!

[bowiemily]

Hi! Im extremely confused about what is discretion and how does it help the legal system? thank you very very much!

Discretion is the idea that people with power in regards to the law (eg. the police, judges) have the ability to interpret how the law is applied. For example, the police have discretion when choosing how much force is necessary when detaining a suspect. A judge has discretion when deciding a sentence. It can work for and against the legal system. A plus is that it means crimes can be judged individually and fairly, meaning that the results could better balance the victims, offenders and society. On the other hand, it can also be used arbitrarily, or even prevent the achievement of justice. A case you could use in favour of discretion is R v Silva, where the judge gave a suspended sentence considering the nature of Silvas crime (as a victim of domestic violence herself). For an argument against discretion, you could use whats commonly referred to as the 'Curti case' http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/police-used-excessive-unnecessary-unlawful-force-on-brazilian-student-roberto-curti-court-hears-20141117-11o3tr.html

Hope this helps!

[rachelmassar]

Hey Elyse!

I was just wondering in regards to family -
- Is the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW) still enacted or relevant? Considering the state conferred their powers of managing de facto relationships onto federal jurisdiction in 2003..
- What are the explicit differences in people's rights between married and de facto couples (as I understand there isn't that much anymore...)
- My teacher told us we won't finish the last two contemporary issues for the option and that they won't be in the exam --> do you think it is worth studying the care and protection of children in particular to support other essay questions? Or would you advise me to just know the other areas well?

Just generally, and in particular related to same sex couples in the family topic;
- How should we evaluate the effectiveness of non-legal measures? e.g should they be judged based on how much input they create themselves, or how effective parliament is in responding to them. I'm alittle unsure how I would frame a judgement about this stuff for example, in a paragraph.

Thank you so much !! You guys are amazing, it's really appreciated 
Rachel

[Mary_a]

Hey Guys,

In a Legal Studies Exam how many words/pages do you suggest for the essay/creative?

Thanks,

Mary x

[Wales]

Hey Guys,

In a Legal Studies Exam how many words/pages do you suggest for the essay/creative?

Thanks,

Mary x

My teacher always suggests upwards 600 words or about 4 pages minimum. I tend to write 6+ because of slightly bigger handwriting but I'd say aim for 4-5.

See what the Legal Professionals have to say I'm just a passing by student ~

[Wales]

My bets are on Law Reform too, or another theme or challenge.
My year 12 half yearly was on the role of discretion, particularly in sentencing! It sounds obscure and I certainly didn't expect it to be a question. So I'm throwing it out there as a possibility to warn you!

Funny you both say that. My teacher said the same thing and also predicted the last 2 years of HSC questions correctly

We were given an essay in the holiday to write about discretion. Could be a hint that it might be in my upcoming exam. I'll write up two drafts, one for Law Reform and one for Discretion.

Cheers Wales

[Bubbly_bluey]

Hey guys! When do we have a referendum, is it when we have to change the constitution or a statute law?