Students

LAWS8002 – Criminal Justice and Public Policy

2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance

Notice

As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.

To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Andrew Burke
andrew.burke@mq.edu.au
Contact via via iLearn
6 First Walk, Room 622
Thursdays 1-2pm
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to GradCertLaw or GradDipLaw or JD
Corequisites Corequisites
LAWS600 or LAWS8001
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit aims to develop an advanced understanding of the substantive principles of criminal law, the administration of criminal justice and related public policy dimensions in contemporary Australian society. Students will critically examine principles of criminal responsibility, a range of criminal offences, and aspects of the prosecution and defence of criminal matters. They will carry out an independent piece of research to analyse and evaluate historical, social, political, philosophical and ethical factors that inform policy development in this area, including a current priority area for legal and policy reform.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Advanced level of understanding of general doctrines of criminal responsibility, elements of offences and defences, and the aims of the criminal justice system, in accordance with Priestley requirements for legal practice
  • ULO2: Collaborate effectively with other students in group activities including in presentations and class discussions
  • ULO3: Critically research, analyse, synthesise, interpret and derive legal principles from legislation, parliamentary debates and case law governing the administration of criminal justice
  • ULO4: Apply principles of statutory interpretation and problem solving methods to criminal justice scenarios
  • ULO5: Carry out independent research, and draft submissions to a legal inquiry, in order to develop, critique and advocate legal policy reform in the context of criminal justice
  • ULO6: Demonstrate effective and persuasive English communication skills, in verbal and written form, with legal and non-legal audiences

General Assessment Information

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. 

Word limits will be strictly applied and work above the word limit will not be marked. Footnotes are only to be used for referencing. Substantive material in footnotes will not be marked.

All assessments in the unit are to be submitted electronically via Turnitin. Plagiarism detection software is used in this unit. 

All assessments must be appropriately referenced, applying the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th ed).  The Guide is available here <https://law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/aglc>. 

Assessments must be submitted in double line spaced text, 12 point, Times New Roman font. Headings and subheadings should be used where appropriate. No bibliographies are required.

Detailed marking rubrics will be made available on iLearn. Markers in this unit undertake a process to establish a common marking standard and all Fail papers are double marked.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Class participation 20% No Each week
Early Quiz 10% No 7am Friday 14th August - 7pm Saturday 15th August
Problem Question 1 30% No 9:00am Monday 28th September
Law Reform Submission 40% No 11:59pm Friday 6th November
Revision Quiz 0% Yes 9:00am Monday 9th November - 11:59pm Friday 13th November

Class participation

Assessment Type 1: Participatory task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 3 hours
Due: Each week
Weighting: 20%

 

Students are required to participate in set activities, including class discussions, opening and closing addresses, law reform proposals, individual and group quizzes, and other set work. Participation requires consistent demonstration of understanding and critical engagement with the required readings. When students are required to participate in group presentation exercises in tutorials, as part of class participation, then these are timed assessments and no late submission will be accepted.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Advanced level of understanding of general doctrines of criminal responsibility, elements of offences and defences, and the aims of the criminal justice system, in accordance with Priestley requirements for legal practice
  • Collaborate effectively with other students in group activities including in presentations and class discussions
  • Critically research, analyse, synthesise, interpret and derive legal principles from legislation, parliamentary debates and case law governing the administration of criminal justice
  • Apply principles of statutory interpretation and problem solving methods to criminal justice scenarios
  • Demonstrate effective and persuasive English communication skills, in verbal and written form, with legal and non-legal audiences

Early Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 4 hours
Due: 7am Friday 14th August - 7pm Saturday 15th August
Weighting: 10%

 

This formative assessment will test students' understanding of the Principles of Criminal Responsibility, the key content that underpins the remainder of the unit.

The quiz must be completed within one hour of commencement. Students will be presented with 20 questions in a multiple choice format. This is a timed assessment and no late submissions will be accepted.

 

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Advanced level of understanding of general doctrines of criminal responsibility, elements of offences and defences, and the aims of the criminal justice system, in accordance with Priestley requirements for legal practice
  • Collaborate effectively with other students in group activities including in presentations and class discussions

Problem Question 1

Assessment Type 1: Professional writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 9:00am Monday 28th September
Weighting: 30%

 

This problem question will focus on a unit topic to be determined. Students will be presented with a hypothetical factual scenario and are required to apply the principles of criminal responsibility, the relevant offence provisions and common law, and the law of defences to assess the criminal liability of a specific individual.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Advanced level of understanding of general doctrines of criminal responsibility, elements of offences and defences, and the aims of the criminal justice system, in accordance with Priestley requirements for legal practice
  • Critically research, analyse, synthesise, interpret and derive legal principles from legislation, parliamentary debates and case law governing the administration of criminal justice
  • Apply principles of statutory interpretation and problem solving methods to criminal justice scenarios
  • Demonstrate effective and persuasive English communication skills, in verbal and written form, with legal and non-legal audiences

Law Reform Submission

Assessment Type 1: Professional writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 11:59pm Friday 6th November
Weighting: 40%

 

Students will be required to write a submission to a hypothetical law reform inquiry. Students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of the law, their ability to critically engage and evaluate existing legal principles, statutory frameworks and broader social contexts, and to propose sound, viable (legally, socially and politically), and reasoned legal and policy reforms.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Advanced level of understanding of general doctrines of criminal responsibility, elements of offences and defences, and the aims of the criminal justice system, in accordance with Priestley requirements for legal practice
  • Critically research, analyse, synthesise, interpret and derive legal principles from legislation, parliamentary debates and case law governing the administration of criminal justice
  • Apply principles of statutory interpretation and problem solving methods to criminal justice scenarios
  • Carry out independent research, and draft submissions to a legal inquiry, in order to develop, critique and advocate legal policy reform in the context of criminal justice
  • Demonstrate effective and persuasive English communication skills, in verbal and written form, with legal and non-legal audiences

Revision Quiz

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 36 hours
Due: 9:00am Monday 9th November - 11:59pm Friday 13th November
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

 

This quiz will cover all of the unit content. Students will be presented with 20 questions from a much larger question bank. Questions will be multiple choice format. The time limit is one hour from when the student commences. The pass mark for this quiz is 75% (that is, minimum 15 correct answers out of 20). It is a hurdle assessment - a student cannot pass the unit without passing this assessment task. Students who do not achieve a 75% pass mark on their first attempt will be allowed a second and, if necessary, third attempt. No more than 3 attempts will be allowed. There is a mandatory minimum 24 hour delay between attempts. All attempts must be made during the 5-day time period that the quiz is open. This is a timed assessment task and late submissions will not be allowed.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Advanced level of understanding of general doctrines of criminal responsibility, elements of offences and defences, and the aims of the criminal justice system, in accordance with Priestley requirements for legal practice
  • Critically research, analyse, synthesise, interpret and derive legal principles from legislation, parliamentary debates and case law governing the administration of criminal justice
  • Apply principles of statutory interpretation and problem solving methods to criminal justice scenarios

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

The required textbook is: Roderick Howe, Paul Sattler and Marissa Hood, Hayes & Eburn Criminal Law and Procedure in New South Wales (LexisNexis Butterworths, 6th ed, 2019).

This unit is delivered via weekly online lectures and a weekly tutorial (on-campus or online). Lectures and tutorials both commence in Week 1.

Unit Schedule

Lecture Schedule

1. Introduction to criminal justice: what is crime?

2. Principles of criminal responsibility

3. Summary offences

4. Murder

5. Voluntary manslaughter

6. Involuntary manslaughter

7. Defences: self-defence, duress, necessity

Mid-semester break

8. Defences: mental illness, intoxication, automatism

9. Assault

10. Property offences

11. Sexual assault

12. Drug offences

13. Extended criminal liability

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.