VCE Legal Studies Question Thread

[You dont know me]

Not related to the study design, but having a debate with some scrub in my private study. Is assisting someone in a suicide, for example, giving them the rope to commit the suicide, illegal, and if so, what would it be punishable by?

[jurisprudence]

Not related to the study design, but having a debate with some scrub in my private study. Is assisting someone in a suicide, for example, giving them the rope to commit the suicide, illegal, and if so, what would it be punishable by?

Hey!

That’s actually a really interesting question. Whilst suicide itself is no longer a crime in Australia (this can be found in section 6A of the Crimes Act 1958 for Victoria), assisting suicide is illegal, with the penalty varying according to the state. For example:

• Queensland’s Criminal Code states that a person may be sentenced to life imprisonment.
• In New South Wales, a person found guilty of aiding the suicide of another may receive up to 10 years imprisonment.
• In fact, the Criminal Code Act 1995 also makes it an offence to use a carriage service for suicide related material, with a penalty of 1,000 penalty units. ($210,000)

There have been a number of criminal convictions relating to euthanasia and assisted suicide. The only exception to this is the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 which legalises physician-assisted suicide in Victoria as of 19 June 2019.

[Ellyjayne27Ellyjayne2]

Please Help me!!
Doesn’t anyone know how the power to give directions as a kind of case management can help to achieve fairness, it’s in my sac Tomorrow!!!
Thankyou!

[AngelaJoh8]

Hello everyone! I'm new to atar notes
I'm currently working on some legal studies and i'm stuck on a question and wondering if anyone could help me!
It would be much appreciated if you could - the question is, how does the law balance rights and powers?

I've been reading through my coursework but still don't understand the question or how to answer it in a way to structure my response.

Thankyou <3

[mlidgerwood4617]

Please Help me!!
Doesn’t anyone know how the power to give directions as a kind of case management can help to achieve fairness, it’s in my sac Tomorrow!!!
Thankyou!

Sorry this is after your SAC but hopefully you might still find it useful! The case management powers (a judge's authority to both give directions and order mediation) can help achieve fairness by providing opportunities for parties to reach an out-of-court settlement (saving time, cost and stress of a full trial) through power to order mediation. Also, the power to give directions can help promote fairness in the civil justice system by giving deadlines/timelines to parties which ensures that there are no delays, and therefore there is a fair trial.

I hope this can help and I hope your SAC went well

[annabeljoesp]

having a hard time answering this question.

It has been over twenty-five years since the High Court of Australia made its significant decision in The Mabo Case [Mabo v Queensland (No. 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1]. The decision was to grant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples land rights, by overturning the longstanding but false legal principle that Australia was an ‘empty land belonging to no one’ (terra nullius) before British colonisation. In making its ruling in this case, it is widely acknowledged that the justices of the High Court were activists in their approach to legally recognising the right of indigenous Australians to make claims over their traditional land.
Describe how the doctrine of precedent was followed in this case, and explain whether or not the High Court acted with judicial conservatism or activism.

[kimokeeffe]

found a couple of sources that might help:
- https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/mabo-case
- https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/research-and-guides/native-title-research/overturning-doctrine-terra%20nullius-the-mabo-case.pdf

[Abi21]

For the hotpoint regarding the responsibilities of key personnel in a criminal trial, the corresponding skill is discuss. Does this mean discuss the strengths and weaknesses or how the role is hindered and achieved?

[meganrobyn]

For the hotpoint regarding the responsibilities of key personnel in a criminal trial, the corresponding skill is discuss. Does this mean discuss the strengths and weaknesses or how the role is hindered and achieved?

'Discuss' is broad, so you should really feel free to consider both of those angles They may also push you in a particular direction, eg to discuss the extent to which a set of responsibilities help achieve fairness, or something like that.

[Ken0015]

Hi there, I have a couple of questions for anyone who could help. How beneficial Is it to know case examples and/or specific sections where its not explicitly written in the study design? Also, should we know the 5 specific kinds of damages e.g compensatory, punitive, nominal etc?

Thanks heaps!

[Poet]

Hi there, I have a couple of questions for anyone who could help. How beneficial Is it to know case examples and/or specific sections where its not explicitly written in the study design? Also, should we know the 5 specific kinds of damages e.g compensatory, punitive, nominal etc?

Thanks heaps!

Hey!

Case examples are very useful when it comes to the extended response questions, and using ones outside of the study design (eg. Not Mabo or R v Brislan or any examples relevant to cases in the U3&4 study designs) can definitely display an advanced understanding of the concepts in the exam. However, be aware that these are not at all necessary, so if you're stressed about covering all the content, scratch the idea of non-compulsory study altogether.

You should be able to list the basic definitions of each of the damages; and if you feel like you can't do that, I would recommend remembering at least three you believe would be most likely to come up.

[Mackenzie Aps]

Hi I am just doing an introduction research project for VCE 3/4 as I am in Year 10 and commencing VCE 3/4 legal in Year 11.  My first project I have this task to complete and would appreciate some feedback and advice.

TASK 2

Australia’s legal system is based on many important principles.

The most important of these is that the legal system demonstrates JUSTICE.

In the study of the Criminal and Civil Justice systems in the Legal Studies Unit 3/4 Course, the principle of Justice is studied in detail. In particular, students will be required to EXAMINE what is meant by the principle of JUSTICE in practice and EVALUATE the degree to which Australia’s Criminal and Civil systems effectively delivers Justice.

For centuries, the symbol of Justice within English legal systems has been the one above: a blindfolded lady holding a set of scales in one hand and a sword in the other.

Research the following questions:

What do each of the following elements of the symbol of justice represent: the blindfold, the scales and the sword?
What are three synonyms for Justice?
Answer the following questions:

Why is it important for individuals to believe that a legal system provides justice?
In the criminal law system of Australia, all people charged with an offence are entitled to the “presumption of innocence”. What does this mean and how does the operation of this principle reflect and demonstrate the ideals of justice?
Why may each of the following factors affect the ability of an individual to receive justice within the legal system: wealth, racial background, cultural background, geographical location, level of education?
 

[J_Rho]

"A person charged with a Commonwealth indictable offence should be able to decide to have their trial heard by a judge alone in the absence of a jury" Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement? (6 marks)

I disagree with this statement. The absence of a jury will not allow fairness as a jury's key role in upholding the principles of justice is to be an independent, decision-making body, whose decision - made unanimously - is based on the evidence presented in court, rather than prejudice or external information. The absence of a jury allows room for a potentially biased judge to make a decision that is not in the best interest of the victims and society. As such, this could foster a system where injustice and bias are common.
On the other hand, if someone wishes to be tried without a jury, a quick trial where the outcome is swift could benefit the victim and their family by not prolonging, and allying the stresses of the trial. Whether or not it is seen as beneficial to the victim, the accused or society, having an indictable offence heard in the absence of a jury will not uphold the principles of justice.
How is my response? What am I missing and how many marks do you reckon this response would get?

[Balfe]

"A person charged with a Commonwealth indictable offence should be able to decide to have their trial heard by a judge alone in the absence of a jury" Discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement? (6 marks)

I disagree with this statement. The absence of a jury will not allow fairness as a jury's key role in upholding the principles of justice is to be an independent, decision-making body, whose decision - made unanimously - is based on the evidence presented in court, rather than prejudice or external information. The absence of a jury allows room for a potentially biased judge to make a decision that is not in the best interest of the victims and society. As such, this could foster a system where injustice and bias are common.
On the other hand, if someone wishes to be tried without a jury, a quick trial where the outcome is swift could benefit the victim and their family by not prolonging, and allying the stresses of the trial. Whether or not it is seen as beneficial to the victim, the accused or society, having an indictable offence heard in the absence of a jury will not uphold the principles of justice.
How is my response? What am I missing and how many marks do you reckon this response would get?

I think the key points to note for this question are;
Jury Better:

• Jury spreads the burden of decision making across 12 people
• Jury is important due to their cross-sectional nature (representatives of the community)

Judge Better:

• Jury takes time to reach a decision as it must be unanimous
• Judge may be better placed to decide the case in accordance with the law (cause they're trained/experienced)
• Jury may not fully comprehend evidence due to its technical nature
• Jury don't provide reasons for their decision

As such, I'd give your answer a 3/6 in its current state. The first point to correct is the very first sentence. The question asks 'to what extent' - so, you need to say an extent. E.g. 'I disagree to a large extent'. From there you've gone on to make two very reasonable points, which I mostly agree with, but for 6 marks, the assessor will be expecting around 3-4 points. The wording could also be adjusted to not ramble on as much:
"The absence of a jury will inhibit fairness as a key role of the jury is to be independent. The absence of a jury allows room for a potentially biased judge to make a decision (as opposed to spreading the burden across 12 individuals). This may lead to unfair outcomes."

[Mackenzie Aps]

Hi I just got my first Legal SAC back and I am a little disappointed, I got a B. I felt I had answered everything - I haven't received any feedback or comments however on the SAC. I will probably take it in to Tutesmart with me for feedback or email someone for some time to go over. I attended tutesmart sessions for tutoring and thought I was doing well, so this was a big shock for me as I was hoping for at least an A.  Can anyone give me some feedback on how this would impact on my SS, I know I have a long way to go but I was aiming A/A+ average and 40+ ATAR, VCE.