SAC1A

• a summary offence is a minor offence, such as drink driving. Summary offences are always heard in the Magistrates Court with no jury.
• an indictable offence is a serious offence, such as rape. An indictable offence is heard in either the County Court or the Supreme Court Trial Division, with a jury of 12 members.
• the burden of proof is the responsibility / onus of establishing the facts of the case through evidence. in a criminal matter, the burden of proof is on the prosecution (DPP)
• the standard of proof is the standard, strength or level of certainty of evidence required to prove the case. in a criminal matter, the standard of proof is beyond reasonable doubt.
• the presumption of innocence is the right of the accused to be presumed not guilty unless proven otherwise (aka innocent until proven guilty)
• rights of the accused include the right to silence, be tried without unreasonable delay, and a trial by jury (for an indictable offence)
• the right to be tried without unreasonable delay is where the accused has the right to have their charges heard in a timely manner, and that any delays that may occur should not be considered unreasonable (depending on the circumstances of the case)
• the right to silence is where the accused has a right to refuse to answer any questions or be forced to give police any information while investigating the crime, and no adverse inferences can be drawn from this silence
• right to a trial by jury involves 12 members of the community being empanelled to listen to the facts of the case and determine the verdict, to ensure community values are reflected in the outcome (only for indictable)
• causes for delays may include acquiring legal representation, committal proceedings, determining and deciding the plea, backlog in the courts, & the overall preparation of a case
• the rights of the victim include the right to give evidence using alternative arrangements, be informed about the proceedings, and to be informed about the likely release date of the offender
• the purposes of sanctions are deterrence, denunciation, rehabilitation, protection, and punishment
• some types of sanctions include a fine, community corrections order, and imprisonment
• aggravating factors are circumstances relating to the offence, victim or the offender which increase the offender’s culpability and the severity of the crime
• mitigating factors are circumstances relating to the offence, victim or the offender which decrease the offender’s culpability and the severity of the crime
• some indictable offences can be heard summarily (heard in the Magistrates Court) if they do not exceed 1200 penalty units / 10 years imprisonment. The accused will prefer this option, as the hearing is quicker, cheaper, and will often result in a lower maximum penalty
• the presumption of innocence is upheld by the right to silence, committal hearings for indictable offences, prior convictions not being revealed to the jury, right to appeal, & the standard and burden of proof
• original jurisdiction is the power for a court to hear the case for the first time, whereas appellate jurisdiction is the power to hear an appeal from a lower court
• some additional rights of the accused include the right to a free interpreter, adequate time and facilities, to not be tried twice for the same crime
• some reasonable delays that may occur include acquiring legal representation, committal proceedings, determining the plea (guilty/not guilty), back log of the courts, collection of evidence
• For a State offence, the right to trial by jury applies to those who plead not guilty for an indictable offence, whereas a Commonwealth offence applies to those who commit indictable commonwealth offences (terrorism)
• alternative arrangements may be put in place for victims to protect them from secondary trauma and to protect the reliability of their testimony. this might include a support person for the victim, recording the testimony in an off-site location, screens between the accused and victim
• victims have the right to be informed about the proceedings of the case, including charges laid, details of the trial (time, place) outcome of proceedings (sentence), details of appeals
• victims have the right to be informed of the likely release date of the accused 14 days prior to their release, including their parole release date (does not apply to remand)
• 3 sanctions available to the courts when sentencing include imprisonment, community corrections order (CCO), and a fine
• the purposes of sanctions include punishment, protection, denunciation, deterrence (general & specific), and rehabilitation
• The purpose of punishment as a sanction is to attempt to penalise the offender in line with the expectations of the community. it offers a form of retribution and revenge, to stop the victims from taking the law into their own hands (often used for more violent crimes). Punishment is typically demonstrated through imprisonment, or a targeted CCO.
• The purpose of deterrence is to 'put off' other possible offenders from similar behaviour, as well as discouraging a repeat from the offender. General deterrence puts off others in the community, while specific deterrence puts off the specific offender from repeat behaviour. Fines are aimed at deterring both general and specific, and work best when combined with another sanction.
• Rehabilitation as a purpose of sanctions attempts to reform an offender, and to try to modify the behaviour that led to the offence to prevent reoffending. A CCO is the most effective sanction to award for this purpose, as it is a non-custodial sanction to offer reform within the community.
• Denunciation as a purpose of sanctions is to demonstrate the court and community's condemnation of the behaviour, and to uphold the values of the community in demonstrating disapproval. Imprisonment as a sanction aims to show disapproval of the offending, by handing down a harsh sanction
• Protection as a purpose of sanctions aims to protect the community from further harmful behaviours from the offender. While imprisonment may be handed down to remove the offender from society, this only acts as short-term protection (as they will be released eventually), so long-term protection needs to be considered through a sanction like CCO.
• A fine is an amount of money, ordered by the courts, to be paid by the offender to the state of Victoria. When determining the amount, the court must consider financial circumstances, loss and destruction of property due to the offending, and the benefits the offender received due to committing the offence.
• A community corrections order (CCO) is a non-custodial sanction, served in the community under supervision, and is tailored to address the underlying cause of the offending behaviour. The sanction involves core conditions for every offender, as well as at least one additional condition that is tailored to the offender and/or offending (drug addict = drug treatment order)
• Imprisonment as a sanction involves removing the offender from the community for a stated period of time and placing them in a prison. The deprivation of liberty itself is the punishment, and it is reserved for the most serious offences. Offenders also receive a non-parole period, where they must spend a minimum amount of time within prison
• When sentencing imprisonment, an offender can receive a cumulative sentence (where two or more offences are served one after another, reserved for more serious offences), a concurrent sentence (where two or more sentences are served at the same time, typically what is awarded), or an indefinite sentence (very rare, no fixed end date provided).
• Many factors should be taken into consideration when sentencing the offender, such as aggravating factors, mitigating factors, guilty pleas, victim impact statements, and the typical sentence handed down for this type of offence.
• aggravating factors are factors or circumstances that increase the severity of the crime and the culpability of the offender, therefore leading to a harsher sentence. Some examples are the nature of the offence (domestic violence, unprovoked), use of a weapon, pre-planning of the offence, vulnerability of the victims, and prior convictions.
• mitigating factors are factors or circumstances that decrease the severity of the crime and the culpability of the offender, therefore leading to a lighter sentence. Examples include remorse, offender acting under duress, mental issues/impairment, and first time offending.
• a guilty plea is when the defendant admits guilt during trial proceedings, which may result in a lesser sentence depending on what stage of the proceedings they plead guilty. This is because the accused has saved the court's resources and reduced the stress on the victims.
• victim impact statement is a written document prepared by the victims detailing how the offence has affected them (injury, loss, damage) since the offending. It allows the judge to understand the true harm caused by the offence, and take these effects into account when deciding upon the appropriate sentence.