woo legal forum

[Pencil]

sorry i just realised this forum was here.. not sure how long it's been here for. possibly in the time that i was in the shower lol. cos i am addicted

well how is everybody going with revision? I haven't done anything for legal in like 3 weeks, godam english better pay off. I'm gonna have to start up again as soon as the eng exam is over.. sigh

[enwiabe]

Just put it up less than an hour ago. Enjoy

[costargh]

Been doing lots of legal lol =)
Still pretty sure you would know more then me though goosefraba lol
Iv'e done two prac exams and got 50/60 and 51/60 but teacher is marking sensationally hard which I dont really mind because just means Im gonna work harder to improve so hopefully I can bump that up to around 56-57/60 by exam time

You having any problems with areas of the course?
My weaknesses are pre trial procedures for both civil and criminal
Still have to look over Canada and make sure I refresh my memory

and everything else is pretty much stuck in my head

=)

[Pencil]

Been doing lots of legal lol =)
Still pretty sure you would know more then me though goosefraba lol
Iv'e done two prac exams and got 50/60 and 51/60 but teacher is marking sensationally hard which I dont really mind because just means Im gonna work harder to improve so hopefully I can bump that up to around 56-57/60 by exam time

You having any problems with areas of the course?
My weaknesses are pre trial procedures for both civil and criminal
Still have to look over Canada and make sure I refresh my memory

and everything else is pretty much stuck in my head

=)

You're lucky, I wish my teacher was marking me hard.  I don't even bother giving her my exams cos she just gives me full marks. She has no idea
I'm reallly scared I've forgotten alot gah..

yeah pre-trial procedures are a bitch, and I'll have to refresh all the changes/proposed changes that have improved access to the law etc.
Jurisdictions are a bit annoying, cos you spends hours learning them all even though you know it's going to be like a 1 mark question on one court, even though you've learned bloody all of them.
I dunno I guess I won't know what my weaknesses are until I finally open up my book again.. i swear it's been nearly a month

[costargh]

Oh thanks for reminding me about proposed changes/changes to the law that have improved access to the law. Gotta go through those again
Yeh I  know what you mean about the jurisdictions. You just have to put up with it I suppose and then after the 14th you can forget all about them.

Anything you've had trouble with over the year?

[Pencil]

Anything you've had trouble with over the year?

umm.. committal hearings? I've gotta ask another teacher bout those when I get the chance

[costargh]

Yeh everyone Ive spoken to has had trouble with the whole committal hearing process.

[Pencil]

It's just because you can't get a textbook with a decent explanation, because they are all different

[costargh]

These notes are by Brows (formely Brows on BoS). I hope he doesnt mind me posting them. There good

Committal Hearings:
Held in the Magistrates Court for indictable offences prior to a case going to trial in the County or Supreme Court.

Purpose/Aim:
   -To determine whether or not a prima facie exists, that is whether there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction and go to trial
   -To clarify the issues prior to attending trial and thereby avoiding taking a matter to court where the evidence is flimsy
   -To allow the defendant to see the prosecutions evidence against them

The accused is either discharged or committed for trial. It can only be avoided at the request of the accused. It must be commenced no more than 6 months from when charges are laid, or 3 months for sexual offences.

Two Types of Committal Hearings:
1.   Traditional Method which relies on oral evidence
2.   The Hand-up brief. This was introduced as an alternative to committal proceedings to speed up the process by the use of written statements. Most, other than the most serious cases, are conducted in this way. The hand-up brief is served on the defendant to inform them of the committal mention date and contains a copy of the charge sheet, photographs, documents and exhibits to be used as evidence.

Steps of Committal Hearings:
   -Special Mention hearing is held to set the timetable
   -Committal Mention hearing is held after the defendant has received the hand-up brief
   -Contested Committal Mention hearing is held where leave has been granted for some witnesses to appear to give oral evidence.

If the defendant pleads guilty, the Magistrate can commit them to the County or Supreme Court without continuing the committal hearing.

If the defendant pleads not guilty, the accused is then either discharged or committed for trial after the committal hearing.

[brendan]

who wants to read my law assignments ^^

[costargh]

Lol. What they on?

[brendan]

the WorkChoices case and its constitutional implications for federal-state balance

[PMD]

I'd be interested in reading them!

I was going to use the WorkChoices as an example in the exam if there's a question about high court interpretation, but my teacher advised against it because the examiners may not know of it.

[Pencil]

yep post em up.
I haven't heard of the workchoices.. brief description anyone?

[PMD]

Here's an excerpt from an email I sent to my teacher many months ago when asking her about using the case:

The general gist of the case is that the Commonwealth was able to legislate within the area of industrial relations through the use corporations power (s51(xx)). As a result of that, it also means that the WorkChoices legislation is only effective for corporations and public service workers for the Commonwealth (and by extension, ACT/NT). Sole proprietorships, partnerships and most state public service workers (Victoria is an exception, since it apparently referred its IR powers to the Commonwealth a few years ago - and as such, is able to legislate on workplace relations in general).

The fact that the High Court in this case interpreted the Corporations power so broadly is significant as it now effectively allows the Commonwealth in any area of a corporations operation, while previously it was interpreted to allow only for legislation of the trading activities of a corporation.

Perhaps the most obvious area in which the Commonwealth would now be able to legislate in would be OH&S, but I believe a more interesting issue arises with schools. Since private schools are corporations, and because the High Court has ruled that the Corporations power can be used to legislate on operational matters for Corporations, the Commonwealth may be able to institute their own curriculum for private schools.

Hopefully there aren't any errors in my description, and if there are, I'm sure brendan will be able to point them out.