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2018 VCE Legal Studies

Welcome to the 2018 course. Due to my commitments with the VCAA this year I am restricted in what I will be posting online. Recent case law is always a great way to understand what direction the law is taking. Penguns (pen guns), for example, have appeared in several cases recently (within the last 3 … Continue reading →

2018 Legal Studies – A new Era in Learning

Its an exciting start to the year as we unpack the new 2018 VCAA study design in Legal Studies. There was a lot of work done last year as teachers prepared to tackle the new courses. I wish all candidates good luck in their studies this year. I will be making regular updates and including … Continue reading →

COMVIEW 2017 USING WEB-BASED ACTIVITIES FOR COLLABORATIVE SUCCESS

2017 VCE EXAM PREPARATION – SOME ADVICE ON CASE LAW

It is difficult to overemphasise the importance of cases in your preparation for the exam. Certainly answering practice exams and questions will highlight what areas of content knowledge you are lacking in. But my question to students is, ‘how many cases do you really know?’ Knowing a case well will enable you to apply it … Continue reading →

THE JURY – A CASE AGAINST IT’S USE

The murder of toddler Jaidyn Leskie and subsequent trial, has caused one retired investigating officer to comment on the effectiveness of the jury system in Victoria. In the following clip, we hear about juries versus a 3 judge trial. Also note the investigation by the police and the fact a committal hearing saw enough evidence … Continue reading →

Retired Justice Michael Kirby talks about online courts

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-03/courts-cases-should-move-online-michael-kirby-says/8770858

Elijah Doughty Trial – Supreme Court of Western Australia

Please note: Indigenous persons should be aware there are images of a deceased person in the newspaper links below. UPDATE 21/7/2017 JURY SENT TO DELIBERATE http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/elijah-doughty-jury-consider-verdict/news-story/a2d7af4084f66d03ad05655b41a1ff41 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-20/elijah-doughty-kalgoorlie-teen-manslaughter-trial-jury-retires/8727064 and http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/elijah-doughty-jury-considers-verdict-in-manslaughter-trial/news-story/c3db6609b2be3e07bbcc0f2f342a3b56 The requirements for a conviction of manslaughter in Western Australia are complicated. The present trial of the person (name suppressed) charged with the manslaughter of Elijah … Continue reading →

Mobile Phone Law Reform – Where to now

The following information is from a Bond University study. Two of my students asked me this morning, can a Police Officer pull over a vehicle and demand their Cell Phone (Mobile) and use a police electronic devices to scan the phone for information. In their question they referred to police wishing to prove the driver … Continue reading →

STATUTORY INTERPRETATION

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has just handed down a ruling that has attracted worldwide attention. The court found that in some circumstances a texter sitting at home can be held civilly liable for a car crash. Could and should this happen in Australia? THE VICTORIAN LEGISLATION Fully licensed car drivers Using a mobile … Continue reading →

OUTCOME 3 THE COURTS

Note: A TAB entitled THE COURTS contains material for this outcome. What was always in our legislation in Australia, the right to graze sheep on the side of the road, came up for consideration in TRIGWELL v. STATE GOVERNMENT INSURANCE COMMISSION  [1979] HCA 40; (1979) 142 CLR 617 The court’s message to the government was … Continue reading →