An Inquiry-Based Approach to Learning About Courtsacknowledgements

Courts Challenge

An inquiry-based approach to learning about courtsAcknowledgements

These materials have been developed with the financial support of The Department of Education and Children’s Services, The Courts Administration Authority and The Open Access College.

Materials developed by:

Peter Cavouras

South Australian Law Courts Education Service.

Support from the following people is acknowledged:

•Bronwyn Sugars

•Sharon Morris

•Leisel Underwood

•Jude Brown

•Matthew Chapman

•Sylvia Kriven

•Judge Christine Trenorden

•Dr Andrew Cannon (Deputy Chief Magistrate)

•Patricia Rowe SM

•Grant Harris SM

•Sylvia Williams

This publication is protected by copyright. It may be reproduced by South Australian teachers for use with their students. For all other uses contact the Open Access College ()

Why learn about courts?

Knowledge of courts’ functions and processes is essential to effective citizenship.

Our attitudes and opinions about courts are shaped over time by a range of influences such as the media, family, friends and community groups.

Civics education underpins our current schools curriculum and can provide learners with knowledge and understanding to question, reflect and form opinions about the role of courts in our communities.

Many of us will have some degree of contact with courts during our lives.

Throughout the series of suggested learning experiences in this package, learners will come to see courts as a resource and formulate views about the importance of key features and underlying principles in enabling the legal system to balance the rights of diverse individuals and groups in attempting to provide social order and harmony.

The Challenge supports learners to develop:

•understandings of the functions, processes and systems of decision-making

•understandings of how to access and use these processes and systems effectively.

The Challenge is framed around four key questions:

•What makes an effective decision?

•What makes an effective judge?

•What makes an effective court?

•What makes an effective sentence?

Issues that may arise for discussion include:

•the effectiveness of our court system

•the appropriateness of court outcomes and the complexities of choosing effective consequences for a range of actions

•the way courts reflect contemporary society

•the importance of independence from the government and parliament

•public trust and confidence in courts.

The Challenge provides scope for learners to consider questions and issues like these in the context of their own experiences.

Connecting the curriculum

This package is designed for students in the middle to upper primary years of schooling. It uses an integrated curriculum approach covering learning areas that include:

Society and Environment

Strand: Place, space and environment; Social Systems; Time, continuity and change

English

Strand: Texts and contexts; Language strategies

Languages

Strand: Communication; Understanding language; Understanding culture

Health and Physical Education

Strand: Personal and social development

Essential Learnings

Learning approaches throughout this package have a strong focus on the following Essential Learnings taken from the South Australian curriculum frameworks document:

•Identity

•Thinking

•Interdependence

•Communication

•Futures.

Using the materials

The materials are best used in conjunction with a visit to the Law Courts. Many of the activities provide scope for group discussion and collaboration. They also provide scope for learners to explore values from a range of social and cultural perspectives.

To maximise learning outcomes, students will benefit from:

•contributing to discussions

•actively listening to others

•reflecting and sharing their responses with others.

Suggestions for presenting learning

The materials are designed so that all or some of the activities can be completed. As an assessment item, teachers may like learners to demonstrate their learning by presenting their understanding of an aspect of courts in a:

•written piece

•collage

•web page

•play

•poster or graphic or

•interpretive art work.

Organisation of the Challenge

The Challenge is divided into a number of core activities. Fact sheets, Templates and additional PDFs support these activities. Each student activity sheet begins with an aim and a brief context statement to frame the learning. Teachers may choose to distribute the activity sheets to students in their current form or use them as a basis for shaping their own activities round the central aims and suggestions for student explorations and discussion.

A glossary of terms shown in bold in the PDFs is provided at the end of the activities.

The flowchart below suggests a sequence for the range of activities in the package. Alternatively teachers can choose a sequence that suits them in their own classrooms.

The Challenge is framed around four key questions:

1.What makes an effective decision?

2.What makes an effective judge?

3.What makes an effective court?

4.What makes an effective sentence?

and leads on to a further exercise:

5.How would you decide?

The activity sheets, the supporting PDFs and the Fact sheets are all addressed to the learner, so teachers may print them out for learner use, or simply use them to provide background information themselves. The Templates may be printed onto coloured cart for groups to use. The activities ‘What makes and effective court?’ and ‘ How would you decide?’ have additional teacher notes with suggestions on how to carry out that activity.

What makes an effective decision?

Aim:To identify and use a range of decision-making processes.

Day-to-day life is full of situations where we have to make decisions. The sorts of decisions we make vary in importance depending on our own personal situation and whom the decisions might affect.

For learners in groups

1.In groups discuss the following three questions:

(a)What decisions do you make in a day?

•How do you make those decisions?

•What strategies are both helpful and unhelpful in making those decisions?

(b)Consider how decisions can be influenced by other persons such as a:

•Family member

•Teacher

•School Principal

(c)Think of three decisions you can control and three you have no control over.

•When have you made a choice to hand over a decision to someone else?

•Why did you make this choice?

•When has someone made a decision for you?

•Why?

2.In groups role-play the range of possible decisions you might make about the following situations:

•You don’t have a pencil.

•You haven’t got anyone to play with at recess.

•You have to choose a small group for a performance.

•You find a stray dog.

•You would like to change the school dress code.

•You would like to plant trees in the community.

•You need to report some one for an incident while on road crossing duty.

What makes an effective judge?

Aim:To recognise that there are a broad range of views about the traits, skills and knowledge required of an effective judge.

Resources:Template 1

Template 2

How judges are selected – Fact sheet 1

A small number of disputes end up in a court before a judge with specialist knowledge and experience. Opinions differ about how judges should be selected, by whom they should be selected, and for what reasons.

Activities

1.In the space below draw a judge.

2.As a group brainstorm and list what you think of when you hear the word ‘judge’.

......

3.Imagine you are on a committee to appoint a new judge. In small groups:

•generate a list of qualities that you think the new judge should have

•choose six from your list and record them on the blank quality cards at the end of Template 1

•look at all the qualities listed on the cards in Template 1

•in your small group discuss and debate which qualities from Template 1 fit into each of the categories listed on Template 2

•copy the qualities chosen for each category onto Template 2

•share your small group’s responses with the large group.

4.If you are interested in exploring the selection process for judges refer to Fact sheet 1.

5.Reflect on:

•the similarities and differences between the words written for the brainstorm in question 2 and the qualities your group recorded on the blank cards in Template 1

•the similarities and differences between the ideas shared back from each small group.

6. Answer the following questions:

•Why do you think that there were similarities and differences?

•What did you find easy/hard when you were working in a group?

•How did you feel when some else had a different view?

•Complete this sentence: An effective judge is someone who ...

•What are your personal views about the processes of election and appointment that are used for selecting judges?

How judges are selected

The ideal process for selecting judges is a subject that is debated worldwide.

The qualities expected of judges that that are most often talked about are accountability and independence, but these qualities are often discussed without exploring what is meant by being independent.

Two methods for the selection of judges that are commonly used are:

•Election: a process based on choice by a community.

•Appointment: a selection process based on merit.

In Australia judges are appointed.

Some of the arguments for election and appointment are outlined below:

Election

Pros / Cons
Many people believe the political views of judges are important / Who is elected may come down to whoever has the money to campaign for votes.
The public have a say in who is elected. / Popular does not always mean effective.
Democracy is observed. / The public may not have the information necessary to make the correct decision.

Appointment

Pros / Cons
The nominating committee includes ‘experts’. / Community members are not involved in the selection process.
Those making the decisions know what is required and that the person has the necessary skills. / The appointment is influenced by the personal views of a few.
Judges are appointed for their working life. / The issues associated with long-term tenures*.

* If judges are appointed to the same position for the rest of their working life, what might be some of the issues related to that long-term appointment? Discuss this with your teacher.

Quality cards

Female / Sense of humour / Strict
Speaks more than one language / Good listener / Good communicator
Old and wise / Lots of experience / Fair
Culturally inclusive / Open-minded / Logical
Problem solver / Good looking / Family-oriented
Knowledge of law / Organised / Caring

Qualities of a judge

Essential qualities
(Those they must have) / Desirable qualities
(Those you would like them to have)
Undesirable qualities
(Those you would prefer
they did not have) / Unnecessary qualities
(Those not needed for the job)

What makes an effective court?

Aim:To discover the key features of an effective court, identifying:

•the people involved

•the space they work in

•those who are essential or not essential in the process.

Resources:Disputes and systems of trial: Fact sheet 2

The stages in a criminal dispute in the Magistrate’s Court: Fact sheet 3

Who’s who in a Magistrate’s Court criminal hearing: Fact sheet 4

How to facilitate a debate: Teacher Resource

Virtual tour [Magistrates Court] at

Visit/workshop with the Education Officer

A courtroom is the place where a dispute may be finalised. Courts in Australia have many common features, including their appearance and the range of people that work in them. For many of us, our impression of how a court might look and they should work is influenced by the media.

For learners in groups

1.After observing a ‘live’ court session, or after viewing the virtual tour, reflect on the following:

•How are disagreements resolved between two or more learners in school? [Consider the role of each participant, including their rights and responsibilities in conflict resolution.]

•Who makes the final decision?

•Discuss and record the advantages and disadvantages of this process using a PMI (Plus-Minus-Implications) Chart.

2.In groups debate one of the statements that follow, then report back to the class:

•The court system in Australia is fair.

•Courts can run effectively without a judge or lawyer.

•Members of the public should be able to view courts.

Use Fact sheets 2, 3, and 4 and the Structured debate process sheet to help prepare and run your debate.

Other activities

1.You are responsible for designing a new court for your local area or town. What should it look like?

2.Research how courts work in another country.

Disputes and systems of trial

Disputes

Disputes are generally referred to as disagreements between two or more people or groups that may end up before a court.

Disputes that go to courts may be classified as criminal or civil disputes.

Criminal disputes refer to crimes (offences or breaches of the law) against the community or its members. Civil disputes refer to ‘private’ wrongs toward an individual or group.

If disputes cannot be settled before the court stage a trial may take place where the aim is to determine what really happened.

Less than 5% of all disputes that go to court actually proceed to a trial.

Systems of trial

The adversarial system

This is used for criminal cases in Australia. Some features of this system are that:

•the court is separate from the police. The judge is like a referee.

•the two opposing sides (the prosecutorand the defence) put forward their cases. The prosecutor has to prove the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

•each side may be represented by lawyers and can call witnesses to give evidence to establish facts to help their case. Judges do not generally ask questions of witnesses.

•the accused person may have the right to be tried by a jury of twelve people from the community. They will decide whether he or she is guilty or not guilty.

•the trial is heard by a magistrate (in less serious cases) or by a judge and jury, or by judge alone

•the most serious cases may first go to a magistrate who will determine whether there is enough evidence for the accused to be sent to trial in a higher court

•in a jury trial it is the jury who decides if the accused is guilty or not guilty. The judge assists the jury by telling them about the law.

•the process is open to the community.

The inquisitorial system

Many European (and some Asian) countries use a different system of trial that incorporates some of the following features:

•Judges/magistrates act as investigators and supervise the role of police in the gathering of evidence both for and against the suspect.

•The public can observe the trial but not the investigation.

•If the investigating magistrate decides there is a case against the accused, he/she compiles a dossierand refers the accused to a court for trial.

•The accused is innocent until proven guilty but the case does not have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

•The trial may be heard by a judge and in some countries judges and a jury. The judge calls witnesses and questions them.

•There are no strict rules of evidence.

•In some instances trials may adjourn for the gathering of more evidence.

Alternative approaches

Mediation (generally not used in criminal cases)

Mediation often involves a neutral third person helping both sides to reach an agreement rather than a judge.

(If, for example, four of you were trying to make a decision about which movie to see, you might ask another friend to help you decide. In a school setting, a disagreement with another may result in a student counsellor attempting to settle the dispute. Because they do not take sides they can be viewed as a mediator.)

A restorative approach

Restorative justice refers to an approach used in criminal cases where the offender admits responsibility for their behaviour and:

•explains their behaviour to the victim

•apologises for their actions

•appreciates the real impact of what they have done and the range of people affected

•makes some promises about future behaviours and recompense to the victim.

The stages in a criminal dispute in the Magistrate’s Court

The stages in a criminal trial in the Magistrate’s Court

* If the person declines to answer, he/she is presumed to plead not guilty.

Who’s who in a Magistrate’s Court criminal hearing

Most courts in Australia have a similar layout. The picture below shows the layout of a Magistrate’s Court in South Australia. Around 90% of all court cases begin and end in a Magistrate’s Court. It is a busy court. Apart from differences in size and decor, higher courts such as the District Court and Supreme Court hearing criminal cases have a space for a jury.

In many higher courts, there is a physical separation between those facing the gallery, those presenting information in court (the Bar Table is where those presenting information or evidence to the court sit and stand) and the Bench where the Magistrate sits. The space between these is often called the ‘well’ and tradition has it that nothing should pass through that space when court is in session except the truth.

The Magistrate’s Court