Description The subject is designed to provide an understanding of the law, the theoretical underpinnings and the underlying policy issues, in the areas of evidence and criminal procedure.
School Law
Discipline Criminal Law
Student Contribution Band HECS Band 4 10cp
Check your HECS Band contribution amount via the Fees page.
On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:
Explain selected theories and rationales underlying the policy and processes of criminal procedure and evidence.
Interpret, analyse and apply the statutory and common law rules of evidence and criminal procedure as they operate in a practical context in New South Wales.
Understand the circumstances and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in criminal courts, procedures and processes.
1. The nature of the adversarial trial in the criminal context
2. Alternative rationales underlying the Uniform Evidence Acts and the common law
3. Forms of evidence
4. Theories of proof and relevance
5. Standards and burden of proof
6. Rules of exclusion including, hearsay, opinion, admissions, tendency and coincidence, character, credibility, identification evidence
7. Privileges
8. Rules and principles of questioning witnesses and tendering documents
9. Judicial warnings, comment and directions
10. Mandatory and discretionary exclusions and the limitations on evidence
11. Prosecutorial and defence ethics
12. The law governing procedure before a criminal trial including arrest
13. The needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in criminal courts, procedure and processes
Assessment
The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.
Type
Length
Percent
Threshold
Individual/Group Task
Quiz
Best 6 of 20 quizzes. 15 minutes each
30
N
Individual
Professional Task
1,500 words
20
N
Individual
Final Exam
2 hours
50
N
Individual
Prescribed Texts
Jeremy Gans, Andrew Palmer and Andrew Roberts, Uniform Evidence (Oxford University Press, 3rd ed, 2019).
