LEGW8106 Criminal Practice

LEGW8106 is only available under certain award programs.

Offered By	Legal Workshop
Academic Career	Graduate Coursework
Course Subject	Legal Practice
Offered in	Autumn Session, 2009, Winter Session, 2009, Spring Session 2009, Autumn Session, 2010, Spring Session 2010, and Spring Session 2010
Unit Value	3 units
Course Description	This intensive, onsite course is for those with the intention to practise in criminal law, as defence advocates or prosecutors. This course has a strong 'practical' element requiring court visits before and after the intensive days, written 'reflective' critique on those visits, and 'advocacy' presentation. The course coverage is drawn from the following, with some variation from course to course. To understand the police viewpoint about dealing with suspects, persons in custody, and defence lawyers. To know if, how, and when to lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman or the AFP. To understand how to protect both the rights of clients and the solicitor/client relationship in criminal matters. To be aware of the victim's perspective and needs. To be aware of the scope and pitfalls of crime scene and forensic laboratory investigations. To understand the requirements of the Magistrates Court ‘Duty list' and pre hearing procedures: how the list works, how you participate, basic court etiquette. To have some familiarity with a specialist court (eg Drug Court, Children's court, Domestic Violence) sufficient to know the procedures if asked to appear there on short notice. To understand the practical problems of sentencing and its aftermath. To be aware of policy perspectives within which changes to criminal law are developed. To be aware of some technical issues which arise with prosecution guidelines, co-offenders and in the choice of charges. To know the basic requirements for seeking bail and be able to prepare a bail application (covered in Advocacy Skills). To know the basic requirements of a simple plea in mitigation and be able to prepare and make such a plea. To have basic understanding of questioning in chief , cross examination, tender of exhibits, objecting - demonstrated within a short summary case scenario. To achieve this coverage the course brings in a number of speakers who all practise in the area about which they talk.
Learning Outcomes	Upon completion of the course, students should be able to: be aware of the range of interests, perspectives and activities within the criminal justice system have sufficient understanding of advocacy to make an informed decision as to whether to seek out an advocate's function or not.
Indicative Assessment	Pass/fail on a simple advocacy exercise; graded closed book multiple choice test on the final afternoon of the intensive, pass/fail on a post intensive report of a court hearing watching experience.
Workload	About six hours pre course on reading materials and attending court, four week days on site, then about five hours to attend court and write report within three weeks of the on site.
Areas of Interest	Law
Assumed Knowledge and Required Skills	LLB or completion of LPAB program.
Corequisites	Students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice must complete the Skills for Practice course before beginning this course.
Incompatibility	There are no incompatible courses.
Recommended Courses	Skills course within the GDLP program.
Prescribed Texts	Prescribed texts are available online and are advised to students through the course website in WebCT.
Preliminary Reading	Preliminary reading is advised to students through the course website in WebCT.
Technology Requirements	This course makes extensive use of online technology for accessing resources, activities and assessment. It is in your best interests to ensure you have a secure computer, preferably at home, where you can access all on-line information without restriction or difficulty. If you intend using IT supplied by your employer, please be aware that you are likely to experience difficulties accessing key on-line resources due to firewall and security restrictions. The computer you intend to use should meet the following minimum specifications. Hardware CD ROM/ DVD Player Sound Card and speakers Video Card Modem Broadband (dial-up access is not recommended) access to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) Printer Software The recommended web browsers are Internet Explorer or Safari Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free download) Real Player (Free download) Microsoft Word WebCT relies heavily on the use of "pop ups". You will need to disable "pop up blockers" for WebCT on your internet browser and or Firewall/Anti virus software and toolbars.
Programs	Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice
Other Information	When Offered and Delivery Mode: Intensive, on site in Canberra and Darwin, over four days. Usually scheduled to co-incide with undergraduate non teaching periods. Classification in Graduate Studies Select: Specialist. In addition an elective in the GDLP program, can be used as part of the articulation into the LLM and LLM (in practice) programs.
Academic Contact	Hugh Selby, Senior Lecturer, Legal Workshop, ANU College of Law

The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.