VCE Legal Studies with Ms Johnson in Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia | High School

VCE Legal Studies with Ms Johnson

Locality: Glen Waverley, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 410 606 378

Address: 620 High Street Road 3150 Glen Waverley, VIC, Australia

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25.01.2022 More a civil matter that we cover next semester but still an interesting one to consider.

25.01.2022 As we talked about in the criminal law unit, in general only ACTION, not any FAILURE TO ACT will be a crime, but a recent case in Florida has highlighted how, although there may not be a legal duty, people may certainly believe there is a MORAL one. What do you think? https://mobile.nytimes.com//video-drowning-teens-florida.h

24.01.2022 It is really important to be able to draw on current affairs in your Legal Studies assessments, and is something used by examiners to separate the very top students from the rest. Hopefully you have followed the Larry Nassar trial, a doctor who abused a horrifying number of young girls and women by pretending he was ‘treating them’. He has already pleaded guilty to 3 child pornography charges for which he received the maximum (20 years) for each. The judge has ruled they mu...st also be served consecutively. Think about why that would be, and think about how you might justify such a sentence with reference to the purposes of sanctions. Secondly, have a read of the article posted below. Although he pleaded guilty to only a smaller number of sexual assaults (about 7 I think), over 100 women have offered impact statements with the Judge making very supportive comments to those women. Do you think that is in keeping with principles of justice? Should she give the appearance of more impartiality? Is Nassar right to complain about being forced to hear so many complaints? https://mobile.nytimes.com//larry-nassar-rosemarie-aquilin

21.01.2022 Something we didn't look at this year, but that is a dot point in AOS 1, Outcome 1 is sentencing considerations, including mitigating and aggravating factors. Mitigating factors are those that would support a less severe sanction. Aggravating factors are those that would support a more severe sanction. Justice Paul Coghlan of the Supreme Court of Victoria recently had to consider these factors in sentencing a woman who pleaded guilty to a single count of attempted murder aft...er she tried to end the life of her severely disabled son. Read the article and consider what factors would influence you to consider a lesser penalty in this case, and what reasons you might have for a more serious penalty, even imprisonment. http://www.heraldsun.com.au//c0975ae002bfebd93ce22f3f19938

18.01.2022 Here is an interesting case - a surgeon has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault after he burned his initials onto two patients' livers during a transplant. Thinking about our Unit 3&4 content, consider sentencing for this surgeon. What aggravating or mitigating factors might be here? What about the sanction itself? What would you suggest to best achieve the purposes of sanctions?... http://time.com/5063337/simon-bramhall-doctor-signs-livers/

17.01.2022 There is some interesting discussion in the comments on this NY times post about the appropriateness of the Judge’s comments in sentencing. It is common for judges to condemn and criticise the convicted person in their judgements but I think it is interesting to consider if we think there should be any restrictions on what they say, or the tone of the criticism.

16.01.2022 Check out this media release from Police. They do not Identify the person charged (although he is named in media reports) and you should think about why that would be? What principle of justice might the police be trying to uphold?

16.01.2022 This is a really nice, clear summary of an issue under consideration in American courts, namely, can a private business refuse service to people on religious or moral grounds. You are hopefully aware that after the YES vote on the question of legalising gay marriage, there is now debate on whether there should be an exemption in that law for civil celebrants who have a objection to performing same sex marriage. Although it isn't an issue YET, a consequence that might flow from allowing that sort of exemption, is a more general issue about businesses refusing service in a manner that would currently be in breach of anti-discrimination legislation.

15.01.2022 Something we touched on when we looked at criminal law, what do we do when parents fail to provide appropriate care for their children? At what point does that become a crime? And are there any justifications we will accept, for example a religious objection or an objection to treatments that are not vegan/ vegetarian (some medicine is created using animals). Below is an article with video about a young woman who wants her parents prosecuted for their decision to treat her illness with prayer, rather than conventional treatments. http://www.ktvb.com//prayer-instead-of-medical-c/143065904

13.01.2022 Interesting post to read in light of what we have learned about juries (and considering juries are on the 3/4 study design). We talked about one big difference between Australia and the US being the question that can be asked of jurors and the below article shows you some of the answers that jurors will give if you do ask. On the plus side, some argue that this helps avoid bias, on the con side, it makes it pretty easy to get out of jury service. http://jezebel.com/he-looks-like-a-dick-enjoy-these-quotes-

08.01.2022 Here is an example of an inmate, Geoffrey Dobbs who has been given an indefinite sentence, as we have talked about in types of sanctions that people might receive. He was given an indefinite sentence in 2003 and it must be reviewed every 2 years. If he is no longer a threat he would be released but it isn't looking like that is a possibility for him in the near future. As he is a sex offender who targets children, he is a particular risk to the community. http://www.heraldsun.com.au//79d0b6289572dd4aea1e9a1866311

05.01.2022 We don't explicitly cover the aspect of civil law (trademark infringement) but it is relies on the same concept of the value of one's reputation that we are currently looking at in defamation. In this case, Costco had sold jewelry that it described as "Tiffany". Tiffany & Co argued (I think quite rightly) that Costco was basically trying to take advantage of Tiffany's name to sell their cheaper rings, which also could eventually damage that good name. Costco argued that th...e word "Tiffany" has become a generic word (much like you might say 'band-aid') and that allowed the use. They lost. http://fortune.com/2016/10/05/costco-tiffany-jewelry/

03.01.2022 Cardinal Pell’s committal heading is set to begin soon. Some possible exam questions that you could answer using this example: What is are the purposes of committal hearings? How do committal hearings uphold principles of justice? ... What rights and protections are available for victims in this case? See more