Court Jurisdiction Question 5

Hi all,

Here is the fifth question. My appologies for the hiatus. I was sick and didnt have a chance to get around to this.

b. Distinguish between the Supreme Court—Trial Division and the Supreme Court—Court of Appeal.

The trial division of the supreme court has an original criminal and civil jurisdiction whereas the Court of Appeals has no original jurisdiction.

Furthermore, the appellate civil jurisdiction of the Trial Division is limited to appeals from the Magistrates court on point of law and VCAT whereas the appellate civil jurisdiction for the Court of Appeals are civil appeals from the Supreme and County courts on point of law, question of fact or issue and also amount of damages.

In addition the appellate criminal jurisdiction of the Trial Division is limited to criminal appeals from the Magistrates Court on point of law (eg. Studded Belt Case 1996) while the Court of Appeals hears criminal appeals from the Supreme and County Courts regarding point of law, conviction or sentence.

3 marks

 

My comments:

In “distinguish” type question linking words like whereas, similarly, in contrast are all par for the cause. They are necessary and required for the marks. Learn them. Ill post a list soon with some.

Again, its about ease of reading for your examiner, separate it up. Paragraphs are your friend. Even if you dont leave a line, think about indenting the first work.

I hope this can help you,
JB

Court Jurisdiction Question 4

Hi all,

Here is the fourth question.

Read the following statement and answer the questions below:
A legal commentator noted that the court hierarchy ‘serves the community well in terms of justice. “Smaller” cases can be quickly heard and resolved. More complex cases, or those with more serious consequences, take more time to resolve’.
a. Explain two other reasons to justify the existence of a court hierarchy.

The court hierarchy exists to enable the operation of the doctrine of precedent. The hierarchy enables higher courts to create binding precedent that must be followed by all lower court, this allows experienced and learned judges in higher courts the opportunity to ensure consistency in the lower courts, provide guidance to lower judges and ensure that a legally sound decisions result in ‘like’ cases. For example, the Studded Belt Case 1996 created new precedent regarding the definition of a ‘dangerous weapon’.

Furthermore, the hierarchy enabled the courts to specialise in the types of cases relevant to their specific jurisdictions. This enables them to develop the necessary skills, processes and expertise to hear cases fairly and efficiently. For example, the Magistrates Court has branches such as the Children’s Courts that are ‘fully conversant’ in their specific areas of law and are able to deal with specialised cases.
4 marks

My comments:

For court hierarchy type questions its straight forward. For each reason, give it its own paragraph. For each reason give an example. Know one or two for each reason for your sac’s and the exam. Ideally, you don’t want to be doubling up by using the same example to demonstrate things in different topics. You want to demonstrate a breadth of knowledge that puts you apart from your peers and the rest of the students in the state.

I hope this can help you,
JB

Court Jurisdiction Question 3

Hi all,

Here is the third question.

The Supreme Court can also hear appeals from the Magistrates’ Court. Explain.

The Supreme Courts appellate civil jurisdiction are those civil appeals from the Magistrates Court regarding a point of law heard by one judge. In addition, the appellate criminal jurisdiction of the Surpeme Court are those criminal appeals based on a point of law from the Magistrates court which is also heard by one judge.
1 mark

 

My comments:

I wont go repeating all my comments, but for this it points out the use of linking words. Get them down pat!

They dont just link like things but will also help you make fluid and fluent comparions and evaluations.

I hope this can help you,
JB

Court Jurisdiction Question 2

Hi all,

Here is the second question.

 

Outline the appellate jurisdiction of the County Court.

The County Court has no appellate civil jurisdiction. In addition, the County Courts appellate criminal jurisdiction are criminal appeals from the magistrates court on the grounds of fact or sentence, they are all heard by one judge.

3 marks

 

My comments:

Again, get the simple things that they cant do out first. Reasons are also crucial. You need to know the ground for the appeals in each court as its not really all the appeals, its only some.

Again identify who hears the case. The fact that its not just a magistrate is important. A judge is more learned and thereby superior in their decisions in comparison to a magistrate.

I hope this can help you,
JB

Court Jurisdiction Questions

Hi all, here is the first question.

Question 1:

Read the following case study.

Martin was charged in the Magistrates’ Court with using a mobile phone while driving. A police officer gave evidence that he had observed Martin speaking on a mobile phone as Martin drove through an intersection. The magistrate found Martin guilty of the offence. Martin lodged an appeal against his conviction in the County Court. He claimed that the police officer could not have observed that he was holding a mobile phone as he drove through the intersection and that he should not have been convicted.

a. Outline the jurisdiction of the Magistrates’ Court.

The Magistrates court has no appellate criminal or civil jurisdiction. In addition the Magistrate Courts original civil jurisdiction is all civil cases up to the value of $100,000. Although, for claims under $10,000 the process of Arbitration is used to resolve the dispute. Furthermore, the original criminal jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court is all summary offences, that is those cases that are heard summarily without the right to jury and/or indictment. For example, road traffic offences as outline in the Road Safety Act 1986. Also, indictable offences tried summarily, that is where the processes for the trial is altered to that of a summary offence without the right to jury or indictment, with the permission of state and defendant are heard in the Magistrates court. Moreover, the Magistrates Court hears committal hearings (where it is determined if the state has enough evidence to proceed with a trail and secure a conviction) as well as issuing a range of warrants (eg. Arrest warrant) and also bail applications. All trails in the Magistrates Court are heard by one Magistrate.

6 marks

My comments:

For jurisdiction questions I always like to state what each court cannot do in the first line or two. ie. for the magistrates court I would always state that there is no appellate criminal nor civil jurisdiction. Thereby it is not to be forgotten later and is effectively out-of-the-way.

It also may have been a little pedantic of me but I would always state original or appellate criminal and/or civil. Because I didn’t want to make the assumption that saying original jurisdiction would automatically be considered to account for both.

Effectively my structure was get the ‘simple’ things done initially then get nit picky….

I hope this can help you,
JB

Unit 4- Aos 1

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I’d like to appologise for my recent hiatus.

If I’ve got the right end of the stick the majority of you are about to start, or all ready have started doing Unit 4- Area of Study 1.

And if I’ve still held onto the stick that means you are looking at topics including the reason for the court hierarchy, the jurisdictions and the methods of dispute resolution used by each court and the alternatives.

If this is the case could you do me a favour and leave a quick comment to let me know im on the right track.

Tomorrow im going to start posting a series of questions and answers. As well as a few comments about why I’ve structured them as I’ve had and things that I feel are in general valuable.

Thank you very much and I hope that this will be helpful to you all.

Kind regards,
JB