HSC Legal Studies Question Thread

[sidzeman]

For short answer "assess the effectiveness questions" are you able to argue something was of moderate effectiveness, or does it have to a wholly on either good or bad

[spetsnaz]

For short answer "assess the effectiveness questions" are you able to argue something was of moderate effectiveness, or does it have to a wholly on either good or bad

Of course you can.

[sidzeman]

Is the Australian Law reform committee a non legal response?

[spetsnaz]

Is the Australian Law reform committee a non legal response?

It's a form of soft law, so it's not legally binding.

[Wales]

Goodluck ya'll :DD Keeen to finish legal 

[Lumenoria]

In the Gordon Wood case, what would constitute as actus reus and mens rea if the cause of the victim's death is still somewhat ambiguous?

[NowYouTseMe]

In the Gordon Wood case, what would constitute as actus reus and mens rea if the cause of the victim's death is still somewhat ambiguous?

imo actus reus would be any action of Gordon Wood that directly resulted in the death of Caroline Byrne, whether it be physically pushing or otherwise. As the initial conviction was for murder, the standard of mens rea would be that of the higher degree detailed in s18(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 which is with reckless indifference to human life, or with intent to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm. One would also have to consider in a case like this where there was no eyewitness, the causation between Gordon Wood's actions and the death of Caroline Byrne to prove actus reus. Hope this helped

[Lumenoria]

imo actus reus would be any action of Gordon Wood that directly resulted in the death of Caroline Byrne, whether it be physically pushing or otherwise. As the initial conviction was for murder, the standard of mens rea would be that of the higher degree detailed in s18(1) of the Crimes Act 1900 which is with reckless indifference to human life, or with intent to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm. One would also have to consider in a case like this where there was no eyewitness, the causation between Gordon Wood's actions and the death of Caroline Byrne to prove actus reus. Hope this helped

Thankyou so much, that helped so much! The thing I'm a bit iffy about though, what was the mens rea? How did they prove that if he denied even doing it to begin with?

[SSSS]

Hey you know how the syllabus is changing for english maths and science, legal will stay the same right? Because like business and legal were changed in 2012 so they wouldn't change it now? I really hope yes as my notes were so extensive and I don't want them to be redundant for further years. Thanks!!

[elysepopplewell]

Hey you know how the syllabus is changing for english maths and science, legal will stay the same right? Because like business and legal were changed in 2012 so they wouldn't change it now? I really hope yes as my notes were so extensive and I don't want them to be redundant for further years. Thanks!!

Legal is staying the same! Congratulations on making great notes

How have you organised them? Digitally? Written? Cases? I'm keen to know

[SSSS]

Thank you so much!!!!!! Probably best thing to hear after this hectic year haha. I love typing up my notes but my school kept making us write it out to ensure when it got to trials and exams, we didn't have issues of hands getting sore, writing too slow or bah handwriting etc. So like legal some written but eventually like Family there is so much information that I just had to type. I did get told off but it was worth it. At the end it was easier to learn my options than the core topics as they were typed and easily edited.

[rasha25]

Hi, I recently entered year 12 and I have an exam for Legal Studies in 2 weeks I wrote a pre-written essay and was wondering to hopefully get it marked out of 15. All feedback is welcomed, have a lovely day.

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi, I recently entered year 12 and I have an exam for Legal Studies in 2 weeks I wrote a pre-written essay and was wondering to hopefully get it marked out of 15. All feedback is welcomed, have a lovely day.

Hey! If you click this link you'll be directed to post it in our marking section, you'll might have more luck getting feedback there!

[Lumenoria]

Hey,
I have an essay for the Legal crime assessment on Tuesday and I was wondering if you could take a look and possibly give me some feedback based on the start that I've made to my inefficiency paragraph? I don't know what the question will be, but I've written this based on "Evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal investigation system at achieving justice". Also, my word count is a bit high, so if there's anything that is redundant or I could cut then please tell me. Thanks

The inefficiency of society's unhealthy reliance on forensic technology renders the Criminal Investigation Process as ineffective. Outlining the standards of DNA collection, the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 (NSW) was passed to ensure forensic evidence is ethically obtained and free from interference. However, in R v Jama (2008), Jama was wrongfully convicted for rape due to "CSI" effect, where jurors are, “seduced” (SMH 2014) by DNA due to their misconceived notions of it being a foolproof mechanism. Despite compelling evidence corroborating Jama’s alibi being elsewhere at time of the attack, the jury’s reach of a guilty verdict solely on the basis of DNA profiling emphasises the way in which the prosecution tactfully allows this “CSI effect” to cloud their genuine judgement by drawing their focus on the existence of the match, rather than the possibility of contamination.

[jamonwindeyer]

Hey,
I have an essay for the Legal crime assessment on Tuesday and I was wondering if you could take a look and possibly give me some feedback based on the start that I've made to my inefficiency paragraph? I don't know what the question will be, but I've written this based on "Evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal investigation system at achieving justice". Also, my word count is a bit high, so if there's anything that is redundant or I could cut then please tell me. Thanks

Sure!

The inefficiency of society's unhealthy reliance on forensic technology renders the Criminal Investigation Process as ineffective. Saying 'unhealthy' in this context is a bit of a colloquialism, so you can probably ditch that bit. Outlining the standards of DNA collection, the Crimes (Forensic Procedures) Act 2000 (NSW) was passed to ensure forensic evidence is ethically obtained and free from interference. Good. However, in R v Jama (2008), Jama was wrongfully convicted for rape due to "CSI" effect, where jurors are, “seduced” (SMH 2014) by DNA due to their misconceived notions of it being a foolproof mechanism. Despite compelling evidence corroborating Jama’s alibi being elsewhere at time of the attack, the jury’s reach of a guilty verdict solely on the basis of DNA profiling emphasises the way in which the prosecution tactfully allows this “CSI effect” to cloud their genuine judgement by drawing their focus on the existence of the match, rather than the possibility of contamination. I think this is a tiny bit too long to be delving into the specifics of a single case - You don't need to lay out how the CSI effect played out in this case if you don't want to. You can be quicker and punchier - The audience can garner how the effect would have impacted the verdict themselves, so you can focus on evaluative judgements ("Thus showing the ineffectiveness of...") and introducing additional evidence