"To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs..." (1 Viewer)

katyrose

New Member
Joined
May 8, 2014
Messages
1
Gender
Female
HSC
2014
"To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the criminal justice system"-essay
HELP! What elements do I need to include in this?
I understand the basic, start by defining justice and so on, but what arguments should I include in this?!
Is this asking about alternative dispute resolutions and purpose of punishment?
Should I go down the path of trying to re-integrate the offender back into society? or talk about how precedents effect justice?!
PLEASE ASSIST MY OVERTHINKING AND CONFUSED MIND!
-Katy
 

Squar3root

realest nigga
Joined
Jun 10, 2012
Messages
4,985
Location
phenchod
Gender
Male
HSC
1998
Uni Grad
2005
Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...

"To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the criminal justice system"-essay
HELP! What elements do I need to include in this?
I understand the basic, start by defining justice and so on, but what arguments should I include in this?!
Is this asking about alternative dispute resolutions and purpose of punishment?
Should I go down the path of trying to re-integrate the offender back into society? or talk about how precedents effect justice?!
PLEASE ASSIST MY OVERTHINKING AND CONFUSED MIND!
-Katy
Firstly; don't define stuff in your essay. respect the legal studies marker enough for them to know what "justice" or "crime" means.

the question is sort of open ended. you could talk about:
- how crap courts are at delivering justice include some cases
- how the children's court is rehabilitating some young offenders
- how the international courts are ineffective (due to state sovereignty and all that)
- could maybe talk about how the inquisitorial system is ineffective
- circle sentencing (how it's handled in indigenous communities and it's effectiveness)
- restorative justice

(I cant believe i remembered all that stuff)

that's basically the essay there
 
Last edited:

hscachiever2014

New Member
Joined
May 6, 2014
Messages
13
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...

I would say that courts provide justice, but aren't the only avenue in doing so. Then i'd mention alternatives such as circle sentencing and youth justice conferences and whether they're effective or ineffective
 

enoilgam

Moderator
Moderator
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
11,876
Location
Mare Crisium
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
2010
Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...

I would say that courts provide justice, but aren't the only avenue in doing so. Then i'd mention alternatives such as circle sentencing and youth justice conferences and whether they're effective or ineffective
I would go with something similar to this - analyse the courts ability to provide justice then move the discussion to a few of the alternatives.
 

Myans

Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2011
Messages
97
Location
Sydney
Gender
Male
HSC
2012
Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...

I think when answering any Legal Studies essay question, your first port of call should be recognising the area of the syllabus that the question comes from, as this will give you a clue as to the content/arguments the markers may be expecting.

So first up, the question comes from Part 3: The Criminal Trial Process and is a variation of the first 'Students Learn to' question: "Describe the role of courts in the criminal justice process."

Thus, the substantial body of your response should focus on elements of the criminal trial process that are intertwined with court procedures, which effectively/ineffectively achieve justice. Probably the most controversial/'meaty' topics to speak about are:
- The Adversarial system of trial --> Is it a resource inefficient? Does the system offer equality within the courtroom? Is justice accessible to both parties in light of an imbalance of legal resources/knowledge? Is there an opportunity for an appeal/review?
- Legal Representation --> Do all individuals have the right to legal representation? Does Legal Aid increase accessibility/equality? Is it underfunded/under-resourced?
- Juries --> Are juries reflective of community standards? Are hung juries resource inefficient? Does a lack of legal knowledge limit the jurors ability to achieve justice?

From here, your essay can segue into a discussion of other methods of achieving justice in the CJS. Note however that it may be sufficient to focus on the operations and effectiveness of court procedures itself (indeed that's what the 2012 Marking Centre notes state http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/hsc2012exams/notes/legal-studies.html#_Toc345587100).

However, there are a number of 'alternatives to court' that perhaps strive to achieve justice:
- Circle Sentencing
- Restorative Justice
- Youth Justice Conferences
- The Drug Court (whilst labelled a 'court', it is an 'informal' court and you could definitely treat it outside the scope of the 'Court System')

And many more.

There is a multiple of approaches, which can all achieve top band responses. The take-away message from that is that as long as you are answering the question, the marks will come from the structure of your essay, the integration of LCMR and a nuanced appreciation of the CJS as opposed to just being wholly 'effective' or 'ineffective'

Source: I did this question in 2012 and got 15/15
 

ZackXXT

New Member
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
27
Gender
Male
HSC
2014
Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...

I did this for my half-yearly and got 14/15.

(Note, I'm shooting off the top of my head, take nothing I say seriously)

The criminal justice system facilitates various methods of achieving just and fair outcomes. The Criminal Justice system plays a multifaceted role induced by its core aim of balancing the rights of victims, offenders and society. Through the application of judicial discretion in accordance with statutory and judicial guidelines in the courts as well as facilitating various alternative methods of sentencing pertaining to specific circumstances, the criminal justice system achieves just and fair outcomes.

Something a long that line, I don't remember was my introduction...

Looked at the courts, evaluated the extent to which they achieve justice through features such as

-The application of discretion e.g. 'How the use of discretion balances the rights of victims, offenders and society'

-Adversarial nature of the law e.g. 'The adversarial system of law which is encompassed throughout all elements of the criminal trial process allows tensions between individual rights and freedoms and communal interests to be balanced.' It does this by facilitating a fair trial where the prosecution represents the interests of the community and the defence that of the offender before an impartial, autonomous judge bound by laws which reflect communal values'. +Case Study etc. Supporting.

-Victim Impact Statements, 'Under the Crime Sentencing Procedure Act 1997 by way of the 'Victims Rights Act 1996' (2006 Amendment) permits 'victims of crime' to read 'victim impact statements' in sentencing, thus facilitating a voice for the victim. In the case of R v Thomson, the sentencing judge stipulated, 'VIS's are a valuable material upon which a sentencing judge may refer'. etc. etc.

-'Schedule 7 of the Uniform Procedure Rules 2005, expert witnesses have an 'overriding duty' to the courts, preventing them from making false statements for personal gain 'Mouths for Hire 2003', thus ensuring testimony presented before the courts is factual, preventing wealthy individuals from perverting the course of justice... thereby achieving just and fair outcomes (something like that).

(Concluding Judgement on Courts)

---------------------------------------------------------

-However, alternative methods of sentencing such as Youth Justice Conferencing have proven equally as effective in achieving just and fair outcomes, particularly for young offenders. As the law reflects the morals and ethics of the society it purports to regulate, the primary focus in dealing with young offenders is rehabilitation. Under the 'Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW)' and to a lesser extent 'Criminal Proceedings Act 1987 (NSW)', 'the sustenance of family ties is pivotal for the reintegration of an offender back into society. However, the rehabilitation focus can often be questioned especially when the offence is indictable in nature. In the case of R v LMW... etc.......... Nonetheless, **effective means of dealing with young offenders YJC, '2002 Australian Institute of Criminology Report' youths are 30% less likely to re offend than if they had attended a children court..... *how it achieves justice for the community and victim e.g. 'effectively rehabilitates young offenders which is also in the best interests of society'.

+ Circle Sentencing..... cbf... 'Robert Bolt Case', 'SMH 2003 Innovative Sentencing Method Breaks Vicious Cycle of Jail, 1 in 28 Recidivism rate'.

----------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully that helped and is factually accurate as I have not practiced that essay for a while.
 

The Train Home

New Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2016
Messages
1
Gender
Male
HSC
2016
Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...

I would go with something similar to this - analyse the courts ability to provide justice then move the discussion to a few of the alternatives.
Is it possible rather than to just argue alternative courts. Incorporate other aspects of the system, such as police powers and reporting of a crime?
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top