Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Law (Volume 3 page 217)
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Optional Law subject.
Prerequisite: Torts and the Process of Law; History and Philosophy of Law
Contact: 3 hours per week
Timetable: Second semester
Objectives:
Students completing this subject should have: acquired a good working knowledge of the rules of evidence as they apply in criminal proceedings; developed an ability to analyse evidence (and identify issues of fact); formed a view as to whether the rules of evidence promote or impede accurate fact-finding in criminal trials; developed an understanding of how miscarriages of justice occur and how they might be avoided; formed a view on how the law should strike a balance between the interests of a person suspected or accused of committing a crime in freedom from wrongful detention or conviction; the interests of society at large in the prosecution and punishment of crime; and the interests of victims of crime in fair and humane treatment by the criminal justice system; developed through this a model of a fair trial which can be used to critically evaluate the law of evidence.
Content:
In our society, a person accused of committing a crime is entitled to 'a fair trial according to law' - but what does this actually mean? A large part of the answer is to be found in the law of evidence. Fairness is, in part, a matter of ensuring that the fact-finding methods employed at trial are rational and reliable: if they are not, then injustice is likely to result. One of the tasks of the law of evidence, then, is to minimise the risk of mistake, particularly the risk of wrongful conviction.But a conviction which is achieved by 'unfair' means can also be described as unfair: the public interest in the investigation, prosecution and punishment of crime must be balanced against respect for the rights of the individual. These not only include the right to freedom from wrongful arrest, detention and imprisonment but also the right to fair, humane and dignified treatment at the hands of the state. The law of evidence is one of the means by which the law strikes the balance between these competing interests. In striking that balance, however, the law must also recognise that the victims of crime are entitled - just as are those suspected of committing it - to fair, humane and dignified treatment by the law.
Fundamentally, then, Evidence 730-385 is concerned with justice in criminal proceedings; but it will also deal with certain aspects of the law of evidence in civil proceedings.
Approximately one week of classes will be devoted to each of the following topics: Introduction including the right to a fair trial and miscarriages of justice; Investigation: The Gathering of Evidence; Investigation: Interrogation and confession; The common law trial; Access to evidence; Examining witnesses; Sex trials; Hearsay; Prejudicial evidence; The accused as a witness; and The evidence of experts.
Assessment:
Final Exam 3 hours (100 per cent).
Prescribed texts:
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Handbook 1996 : Faculty of Law (Volume 3 page 217)
Status: Official 1996 Date created: Oct 9 1995 Last modified: Oct 9 1995 Authorised by: Academic Registrar Email enquiries: Course_Information@registrar.unimelb.edu.au
Maintained by: Faculty of Law.
Copyright © University of Melbourne 1995,1996.