Court Report Assignment (Australian Law)

W​‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌​RITE IN STANDARD ENGLISH FLUENCY WORD LIMIT: 1750 Words +-5% INCLUDING THE REFERENCE LIST PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO EVERY INSTRUCTIONS AND USE THE CORRECT HARVARD REFERENCING QUESTION: The courtroom is a ritualized space, involving costume, language, spatial organization and so on, and courts, therefore, constitute performative exercises of power. Discuss and analyse some of the ways in which courts demonstrate power and/or power relations. Every day ‘the law’ impinges upon our behaviour in both obvious and subtle ways. We are usually unaware of its effects, or we consciously ignore it. When the law is broken an order to appear in court may be obligatory, and the court is arguably the most recognisable institution of the law. The courtroom has a long history and is designed as a ritualised space where ‘the law’ operates, where its power is on display for all to see, with an aim to (arguably) protect the innocent and punish the guilty in a just manner. There are numerous theories on the aim of punishment including deterrence, retribution and rehabilitation and a magistrate/judge is usually the legal office that dispenses ‘justice’. Power clearly operates in the courtroom though not just with the decision of the jury, magistrate or judge(s) as there are many other ways that power is displayed, and power relations operate, in this space. Your task is to view, record, and write-up an analysis of power in the courtroom. This assignment has two components. The first component is an observational task viewing online clips of courtrooms in Australia, a virtual courtroom for our purpose. Your task is to act as a novice socio-legal researcher undertaking a micro observational study by viewing the clips and imagining that you are sitting in the public viewing area (audience) of the courtroom in the online clips. Here are the clips you are to watch. These videos can either be referenced in your report by video name, or the easier option of Video 1, Video 2 etc (note I have provided this simple naming procedure below in highlighted text). VIDEO 1: TIPS ON HOW TO BEHAVE IN AND FOR THE COURTROOM IN AUSTRALIA (Describes what the Magistrates’ Court appears (layout etc), how to behave etc. in Australia) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrbsLM7IDlw&t=142s VIDEO 2: FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE MAGISTRATES COURT (A Legal centre giving advice on magistrate court – good for layout of modern court) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r1QKj0zxxI&t=5s VIDEO 3 AND 4: from NSW Magistrate’s Court – there are two clips on this webpage https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/driving_offences_and_crime/responding_to_a_charge/driving_and_crime_the_first_court_date.aspx (Links to an external site.) It is important that you take notes of your observations of the courtrooms provided in the clips on elements that demonstrate power relations (below is a list of ‘things’ to observe in the courtroom) as these must be utilize in the court report. If no observations appear in the report or if material is sou​‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌​rced from the Internet or it refers to courts that are clearly not Australian, the report will likely receive a fail grade. THE SECOND COMPONENT OF THE ASSIGNMENT IS TO WRITE YOUR REPORT DEMONSTRATING YOUR ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE COURT, THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROCEEDINGS AND THE COURT ITSELF WITH USE OF THE OBSERVATION YOU MADE IN THE ‘VIRTUAL’ COURTROOM. YOU MUST CONTEXTUALISE YOUR OBSERVATIONS WITH USE OF THE JOURNAL ARTICLE BY CARLEN (1976) AND THE BOOK CHAPTER BY SMITH AND NATALIER (2005) (THESE 2 SOURCES ARE ATTACHED BELOW IN THE ADDITIONAL MATERIALS) Carlen, P 1976, ‘The Staging of Magistrate’s Justice’, British Journal of Criminology, vol.16, no. 1, pp. 48-55. Smith, P & Natalier, K 2005, Understanding Criminal Justice: Sociological Perspectives, London, Sage. [Ch 4 ‘Courts & personnel’, pp. 121-166.] OTHER SOURCE MAY ALSO BE USED A REPORT IS COMPRISED OF; – an introduction; – a brief statement on the method, that is participant observation; – 6-8 paragraphs that each have a major point that is discussed/analysed with use of the observations made in the virtual courtroom that are contextualised along-side the set readings (and other relevant academic readings you have found) where relevant; – some reflections on power relations observed in the virtual courtroom (see lecture slides for detail on power); – consideration of the notion of justice, e.g., do courts actually serve ‘justice’ – what is justice?; and – a brief conclusion followed by a reference list that should only include sources cited in the report. As you can see, a report style differs from an essay but you still have to make relevant points drawing on your observations and to link these observations ideas presented in the set readings or other readings. Correct referencing and formatting of reference/legal materials is required throughout the report including the reference list. Please note that following these instructions is a minimum requirement for a pass grade. IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THAT YOU FOCUS ON THREE TO FOUR OF THE FOLLOWING AREAS TO DEMONSTRATE YOUR ARGUMENTS: COURTROOM ACTORS (LAWYERS FOR EXAMPLE); JUDGES/MAGISTRATES AND SENTENCING; COURTROOM ARCHITECTURE; COURT DRESS; COURTROOM LANGUAGE; OR GENDER/RACE/SEXUALITY/DISABILITY IN THE COURTROOM. IF YOU THINK OF ANOTHER AREA THEN DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR TUTOR BEFORE WRITING ON IT IN THE REPORT. YOU MUST USE YOUR OBSERVATION SO DO NOT WRITE THE WHOLE REPORT ON COURTROOMS IN AN ABSTRACT OR GENERAL MANNER. WHEN WRITING YOUR REPORT, MAKE LINKS BETWEEN YOUR OWN REFLECTIONS OF WHAT YOU OBSERVED IN COURT AND THE UNIT READING FOR WEEK 4. HIGH QUALITY REPORTS WILL REFLECT ON THE NATURE OF JUSTICE AND IF IT IS ACHIEVED IN THE SETTING OF THE COURTROOM. YOU MUST REFER TO THE CHAPTER BY SMITH AND NATALIER (2005) AND THE JOURNAL ARTICLE BY CARLEN (1976) IN YOUR REPORT AND THESE AUTHORS MUST APPEAR IN THE REPORT’S REFERENCE LIST. SUPPLEMENTARY REFERENCES TO OTHER STUDIES ON COURTROOMS AND JUSTICE APPEAR IN THE UNIT OF STUDY GUIDE THAT YOU MAY WISH​‌‍‌‍‍‌‍‌‌‌‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌​ TO CITE IF THEY ARE RELEVANT TO YOUR ANALYSIS.

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