2.

THE COURT RESEARCH PAPER

Introduction:

Court observation is a part of the experiential aspect of your law degree

and so you should expect to have spent at least a week in court by the time

you graduate. Each time you attend court you will have an increased

understanding of the processes that underlie courtroom work for a legal

practitioner. Each assessment of such observations emphasises a

different aspect of the role of the lawyer in the courtroom.

LLB students will have in Introduction to Law and Justice already

considered the impact that the courtroom has on the resilience and well-

being of lawyers, and the differences between different courts.

Observations in Court Process, Evidence and Proof will focus on how

lawyers should and do examine witnesses in jury trials.

In Crime and the Criminal Process the emphasis is on gaining awareness

of how criminal procedure and the courtroom environment shape the way

criminal proceedings occur in practice. This includes a comparison of

theory and practice and of the impact of different court levels. While

some students may have observed criminal trials in Introduction to Law

and Justice, in Crime and the Criminal Processthis examination is more

detailed and sustained. Students are expected to be able to apply their

study of criminal process to what they observe in court.

The format of your answer also varies between courses. In Introduction to

Law and Justice, LLB students are encouraged to provide an analysis of

their own impressions of a day in court. In Court Process, Evidence and

Proof students are required to present their analysis using a non-legal

medium – such as a poster – with an emphasis on clarifying and

condensing information.

In Crime and the Criminal Process, students are asked to use the research

literature as a lense to make sense of their own observations. That is,

their own observations form the grounds for hypothesis and arguments

against which to critique the findings or suppositions of academic authors.

Summary

Aims: This assignment is designed to:

 introduce students to the practical realities of criminal law and

justice;

 provide a real-life context for reflection on reading and classroom

discussion of criminal process, and

  develop socio-legal research skills through researching an issue

identified during the process of observation against data collected in

that observation.

Requirements: Students must

 attend the equivalent of three full days of court

 record details of matters observed in those three days in a Court

Attendance Log

 write a 1500 word research paper investigating and discussing a

criminal justice issue identified during those observations.

Detailed instructions
Time in court:

 You must spend at least 3 full days or 6 half-days observing criminal

matters. One day is at least 5 hours in court as recorded in your

Court Attendance Log. If the courtroom you are attending finishes

early, move to another courtroom for the remainder of the day. You

need to make sure that you plan to be able to complete the

equivalent of three full days.

 You must spend at least one full day (or two half days) in the Local

Court, and one full day (or two half days) in either the District,

Supreme or High Courts (this is to ensure you observe the differences

in procedure between the lower and higher courts).

 At least one full day or the equivalent must be spent in a Local Court.

You must specify the time spent in the various courts in your Court

Attendance Log.

 You should not attend:

o the Federal Court or Federal Circuit Court

o any tribunal or the Coroner’s court

o any civil matters

o the Children’s Court

o the Drug Courts

o You cannot include any time spent in court for another course.