Please mark this essay I just made "Assess the role of the each of the key court personnel, and the extent to which they contribute to the effective functioning of the court system." Out of 15.
The key court personnel in the criminal justice system are the judge/magistrate, the jury, police, defense, and the prosecutor. All of these have certain powers/discretion and key roles that contribute to the effectiveness, functioning and access of the legal system. Their importance is of all equal value, they all have very different roles which can be seen through all types of different cases, legislation and issues in the criminal justice system.
A judge/magistrate main role is to take charge of all formal court proceedings, to ask the jury to deliver the verdict, and to ask for order in the court if there is an outburst from any party present in the courtroom. A magistrate only takes over matters in the Local Court. The judge takes over matters in the District Court, The Supreme Court and the High Court. They also have discretion to look at and decide if the arguments and evidence given from both the prosecutor and the defense is worthwhile considering. Once the jury delivers a guilty verdict, the judge has discretion to decide the length of a sentence imposed. The Crimes Act 1999 restricts them when imposing the length of a sentence for certain serious indictable offenses. The judge also can interpret statute laws, by applying common law. They have the responsibility to follow the doctrine of precedent to look for similar cases and their rulings to decide what to follow. This supports the notion that “all cases must be treated equally.”
Judge’s guidance, orders and opinions are highly needed for a cooperative function of the legal system. The judge guides all other parties in the courtroom. Their guidance is what will lead to the final decision; they influence the jury, the prosecutor and the defense, etc. This is why it is extremely important that they disclose their bias if they are listening to their relatives case, or anyone they discriminate against. Their significance of the influence and decision is clearly drawn and seen from the Donoghue vs. Stevenson case (1932). This case was significant in that the judge ruled and accepted the notion of negligence and it introduced the new principle that manufacturers owed a duty of care to their consumers they sell their goods and services too. This includes all kinds of services including primary, tertiary and secondary. Another significant is the Mabo vs. Queensland (1992) case. This case was significant in that the judge ruled that on behalf of Australia’s common law, agreed to acknowledge Aboriginal people their land belonged to them, and overcame the idea of “terra nullius” meaning land belonging to no one. This released the Native Title Act (1993) that acknowledged that piece of land.
However, judges always don’t have the purest of intentions. On 22nd September 2002 the Sydney Morning Herald released a newspaper article defaming a well known and respected judge within NSW reporting that this particular judge had been exposed to listening to a case involving his brother, and mislead the prosecutor, lawyer and most importantly, the jury which lead to a harsh and unjust outcome of the case. This was in the case of R vs. Jackson (2004). In this case, Jackson was accused of viciously murdering his three kids and wife. The prosecutor brought up strong linking and convincing evidence which undeniably proved the prosecutor’s case, however when brought up to the judge, it was dismissed on the basis that “it wasn’t reliable” enough, so therefore wasn’t for the jury to consider, although it was valuable evidence.
Another key court personnel valuable for the criminal justice system is the jury. The jury’s decisions are the most important, as what they decide seals the outcome of the case. They do not determine the sentence, but do they determine if there will actually be a sentencing hearing. But it is argued amongst society if they should start picks jurors for their knowledge and expertise of the legal system. Because they are just randomly picked from the community, it is controversial that they are risking a miscarriage of justice. The jury’s main role is to deliver the verdict to seal the fate off the defendant. If there is no jury, their role goes to the judge. This is often in a civil law system based on an inquisitorial system where the judge has to investigate and find evidence. In our common law system, 12 jurors is the amount required in a criminal case. In a civil law case, only 6 reside. The jury’s significance to an effective functioning of the process is undeniably seen in the case of R vs. Ramirez (1952), the significance of this case was that it raised discussion and questions about the role of the jury. In a serious manslaughter matter, the jury had a lapse in judgment as they did not view the defense’s argument carefully; this resulted in a man being wrongly convicted to 15 years of child molestation. Years after his release, the judge looked at this case through this precedent, revisiting all the arguments of the prosecution and the defense, realizing a mistake had been made. Right at that moment, a newspaper article was published from the Sunday Herald called “Controversial role of the jury – or not?” It detailed all the facts and details of the Ramirez case and raised discussion and questions within the community, and controversy of our common law system as a whole.
Finally, the police. The main police powers are listed in the Law Enforcements Act 2002 and the Bail Act 1978 NSW. These include the power to arrest, the power to issue cautions, warning and fines in relation to minor offenses, the power to stop a vehicle if they have reason to think that they are any illegal weapons being carried, the power to search premises and issue warrants. Police have discretion in many areas; including whether to decide on whether to investigate a crime or not, if the evidence is strong enough to issue an arrest or not, etc, how much of a fine to issue. There have been several newspaper articles written and published by the media of police powers ie. “Police arrest 20 year old for people smuggling.” This case surrounded a 20 year old traveling overseas through illegal deportation, also called transnational crime, in the case of R vs. Jake (2005.) Arrest and warrants notifications are usually published and talked about on the news. The main role of our police is to investigate crime, and arrest, and help the prosecutor find evidence. Disadvantages of police powers is that it is often abused or overused in some areas.
Overall, the main legal personnel involved in creating an efficient process, fair and just outcome, and access – the police, judge/magistrate, and the jury. Police for letting it be known that an crime has been committed, their findings/evidence, and their police powers. Judge – for their viewings on arguments and evidence and their power and authority in the courtroom, and the jury for their decision/verdict and its huge impact on the case.