Prepare a 2,000 word (+/- 10%) report about your visit to a court, as follows (PLEASE NOTE - markers will stop reading at 2, 200 words):
Students are to observe at least one court hearing/proceeding. You should be an observer only not a professional participant in the proceeding.
This assignment requires that you focus upon your observations in ONLY one type of court in the State and Federal Court hierarchies in Australia, for example, a Magistrates Court (including a specialist court within a Magistrates Court, such as a Koori Court, Family Violence Court or the Assessment & Referral Court (ARC list)), a County Court, a Supreme Court, a Family Court or a Children's Court (Criminal or Family Division).
to a court, as follows (PLEASE NOTE - markers will stop reading at 2, 200 words):
Students are to observe at least one court hearing/proceeding. You should be an observer only not a professional participant in the proceeding.
This assignment requires that you focus upon your observations in ONLY one type of court in the State and Federal Court hierarchies in Australia, for example, a Magistrates Court (including a specialist court within a Magistrates Court, such as a Koori Court, Family Violence Court or the Assessment & Referral Court (ARC list)), a County Court, a Supreme Court, a Family Court or a Children's Court (Criminal or Family Division).
You might visit courts close to where you live or courts in the city, for example, the Melbourne Magistrates Court, and the other courts in the vicinity of this court.
You might observe several hearings (or parts of hearings) in the type of court upon which you choose to write your report and, if relevant to your commentary/critical analysis, you can make very brief comparisons to your observations in other hearings, other courts or tribunals.
Law, Legislation, and Courts:
1. Courts are generally open to the public - explain why?
2. Why are some courts closed to the public, that is, held in camera?
3. Respond to the following questions regarding the court you observed and have chosen to focus upon for this assignment task.
- (a) What Legislative Act guides this court's operation?
- (b )What is the court's jurisdiction?
4. Focusing on one case that you observed:
- (a) What area of law best describes this case?
- (b) Name one Legislative Act that is specifically relevant to this case?
Procedures and participation in, and beyond, the courtroom: Worth 12 marks -
1. What is the identifying title of 2 key participants involved in the court proceedings you observed and what are their roles? Focussing on these 2 key participants (identified only by their role) in the court proceedings you observed (these could be professionals or people present in a non-professional role), briefly note and justify what you consider to be significant about their (i) dress, (ii) choice of language (provide one brief quote for each of your 2 key participants), and (iii) interaction with another key participant (identified only by his or her role) in the courtroom.
2. Briefly note two protocols or customary practices, particular to a courtroom proceeding, that you observed, and/or in which you, as an observer, participated, in the court room.
3. Note two support services, available to people required to attend the court you have chosen to focus upon, that enhance people's access to justice and/or attend to their special needs.
4. How do the support services you have noted attend to people' special needs, and enhance people's access to justice?
5. Note two court-related roles that social workers perform for clients involved in the court system.
Courtroom experience:
1. Describe how you felt physically and emotionally as an uninvolved observer in a court room and note 2 aspects of the court-room experience that prompted you to feel this way.
2. In relation to each of the 2 aspects of the court¬room experience that you have noted, propose a change/improvement to the court environment, procedures/protocols or resources that might enhance, or further enhance, participants' and/or observers' experience of going to court.
3. Do you think that courts and tribunals should generally be open to the public? Give 2 reasons why you hold this opinion.
Language use, references and presentation:
1. Use of correct terminology relevant to the court or tribunal observed, and effective use of relevant literature/reading materials/websites and their integration into discussion (cite at least 2 academic references - refereed journal articles or book chapters).
2. Use of an appropriate structure (headings and sub-headings) and Harvard style referencing.