Subjects 2009
Criminal Justice in Australia and the US: A Comparative Evaluation (formerly Criminal Justice in Common Law Countries) 730767
- Credited Courses: Graduate Diploma in Dispute Resolution 498; Graduate Diploma in Dispute Resolution 498; Graduate Diploma in Government Law 178; Graduate Diploma in Government Law 178; Graduate Diploma in Legal Studies L08; Master of Laws (LLM) 502; Master of Laws (LLM) 502; Master of Public and International Law 511; Master of Public and International Law 511
Teaching
Throughout this subject, debate and discussions will take place with the professor and several prominent Australian judges (federal and state, trial and appellate), practising lawyers and academics specialising in criminal justice.
Objectives
A student who has successfully completed this subject should have:
- An understanding of a number of key issues involving substantive criminal law in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom
- An understanding of a number of key issues involving criminal procedure in Australia, the US and the UK
- An understanding of the tension between a desire for effective law enforcement and protection of individual liberties
- An appreciation of the various factors that impact on the administration of the criminal justice system, including cultural, political, racial, gender and economic
- A basic ability to engage in comparative analysis of three criminal justice systems that share a common heritage but have quite different features today
- An awareness of several of the practical concerns that influence the administration of the criminal justice system, from the perspective of members of the judiciary and members of the bar.
Syllabus
This subject will explore a number of important issues related to the criminal justice process. Looking at the law, policies and processes of Australia and the US (as well as some other countries such as the UK, New Zealand and Canada), we will chiefly consider how these two nations with common law heritages can end up with systems that are often strikingly different.
Principal topics will include:
- Establishing criminal responsibility
- Sentencing (including capital punishment)
- Entrapment
- The insanity defence
- Rules of exclusion
- Interrogation of suspects
- Search and seizure
- The role of the jury.
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| Paul Marcus |