Court Report Example - Assignment PDF

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COURT REPORT Attending different court proceedings 1 can bring an understanding of the operation of the rule of law across our legal system and the challenges lawyers face within the court system.

Rule of Law In the District Court criminal trial, the accused was prosecuted for a drug offence before a jury. The trial demonstrated a key feature of the rule of law, that all persons are entitled to the presumption of innocence and a fair and public trial.2 The judge sat impartially, the prosecution called witnesses to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt and the accused’s barrister cross-examined the prosecution witnesses.3 The accused, of nonEnglish speaking background, was permitted to have an interpreter with him in the dock to ensure a fair trial. However, an observer might question whether the accused truly understood the complex proceedings.4 In the NCAT5 the applicant applied for administrative review of the Education Department’s decision rejecting his application for government information. 6 A principle of the rule of law is that the Executive is subject to relevant laws and citizens have legal rights under laws.7 The applicant was self-represented and not there in person and the telephone system was faulty. To ensure a fair hearing, the Tribunal Member set up a teleconference; as the applicant did not have legal representation, the Tribunal Member repeatedly confirmed the applicant understood the legal arguments which it seemed he did.

Challenges. Across all jurisdictions, lawyers had a strong sense of their professional role and identity. Judicial officers responded to challenges firmly and calmly and took active steps to ensure a fair trial. Barristers/solicitors took turns asking questions and submitting arguments, reflecting the adversarial (as opposed to inquisitorial) nature of our legal system. 8

Lawyers understood their duty to

assist the court/Tribunal by openly answering questions raised.9

Challenges seemed to be related to financial resources, time and experience.

It was clear the State prosecution/government department/police had greater financial resources 10 so that meeting the costs of one’s defence/application would be a financial challenge. The Local Court bail applicant was represented by a Legal Aid lawyer, a legal service for those facing social and economic disadvantage.11 In the District Court civil torts hearing for damages, each party had to finance their own costs. This was offset by the Court’s power to order costs against the unsuccessful party. Within the court hierarchy, time was a challenge. There was an atmosphere of time pressure on lawyers in the lower Local Court where a vast amount of summary matters must be dealt with in one session. 12 By contrast, in the intermediate District Court, barristers had time to question witnesses and to rephrase and repeat questions. The judge carefully ruled on admissibility of evidence using law and precedent.13 DISCUSS RESILIENCE / META COGNITION somewhere round here

Local Court defence solicitors had the greatest challenges. The Legal Aid lawyer for the bail applicant appeared inexperienced and to struggle with the law. When bail was refused, the applicant’s family abused and yelled at the lawyer inside the courtroom demanding to know why he did not tell the Magistrate certain matters. The lawyer appeared stressed, leaving quickly.

To the observer, this highlighted the pressures young lawyers must face particularly in busy courts.

Conclusion A court visit provided invaluable insight into the operation of the rule of law and the financial and personal challenges faced by lawyers in our adversarial

system.

Resilience to such challenges can be assisted by resources,

experience and time.

1 Appendix A: Court proceedings. 2 Vines, P. (3rd edition 2013), Law and Justice in Australia, Foundations of the Legal System, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, p.3; UNSW Lecture Notes ILJ Term 1, 2019 3 Vines, ibid, p.270 4 Vines, ibid, pp.321-323 5 NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal 6 I located the previous judgment: Zonnevylle v Minister for Education [2019] NSWCATAD 28 7 Vines, ibid, p.3; UNSW Lecture Notes ILJ Term 1, 2019 8 Vines, ibid, pp.7, 269-270 9 Vines, ibid, p.269 10 Vines, ibid, p.269 11 https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/about-us/who-we-are 12 Vines, ibid, pp.269, 302-303 13 Vines, ibid, p.6...