LAW5605 Advanced Criminal Law A
| Semester 1, 2013 On-campus Toowoomba | |
| Units : | 1 |
| Faculty or Section : | Faculty of Business and Law |
| School or Department : | School of Law |
| Version produced : | 11 April 2013 |
Staffing
Examiner: Eola Barnett
Moderator: Craig Burgess
Requisites
Pre-requisite or Co-requisite: LAW5501
Other requisites
Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/ict/students/standards/default.htm.
Rationale
A law graduate is required to have a broad knowledge of, and skills in, criminal law for admission into practice in accordance with the Law Admissions Consultative Committee Uniform Admission Rules (Priestly 11) and the Law Learning and Teaching Council Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Project: Juris Doctor learning and teaching academic standards statement December 2010. This course seeks to comply with these standards and is a core course within the Law degree program.
Synopsis
Criminal law sets the limits which society, through the government, imposes on acceptable behaviour. The limits are set to provide the basis of a safe environment in which people can lead productive lives. Going beyond those limits can result in drastic consequences for the individual within the criminal law regime. This course will introduce students to the fundamental principles that underlie criminal law in Queensland. It will also introduce students to criminal procedure, with a focus on Queensland Magistrate and District Court trials; a selected range of criminal law offences and defences, and general principles of sentencing in Queensland. The course is designed to take students on the journey through the criminal process from arrest through to appeal, with a focus on some processes and offences likely to be encountered by commencing criminal law practitioners. Criminal law B will build upon the foundations laid in this course.
Objectives
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- understand the classification of criminal offences and its relevance to other criminal processes, for example, arrest and court jurisdiction
- understand the nature of the Criminal Code (Qld)
- understand the role, and ethical considerations relevant to that role, of criminal law practitioners
- deconstruct and understand selected Criminal Code (Qld) and other statutory criminal offences, defences and excuses
- understand the relationship between criminal offences and case law, and the role of the judge and jury
- understand criminal processes and general sentencing principles in Queensland
- demonstrate an ability to apply, using appropriate problem solving methodologies, the criminal law to problems on selected offences in order to determine the likely outcome to issues
- demonstrate satisfactory written communication skills
- demonstrate an ability to apply methods of legal citation and referencing
- demonstrate an ability to locate, through research, and analyse primary law and secondary materials, relevant to topics considered in this course.
Topics
| Description | Weighting(%) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Introduction to fundamental principles in criminal law (Queensland) | 6.00 |
| 2. | Arrest and bail | 11.00 |
| 3. | Criminal trial process | 11.00 |
| 4. | Legal representation and ethics | 6.00 |
| 5. | Select property offences | 11.00 |
| 6. | Select defences relating to property offences | 11.00 |
| 7. | Drug offences | 11.00 |
| 8. | Motor vehicle offences | 11.00 |
| 9. | General principles of sentencing | 11.00 |
| 10. | Appeals | 11.00 |
Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed
ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from USQ's Online Bookshop (unless otherwise stated). (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/bookweb/subject.cgi?year=2013&sem=01&subject1=LAW5605)
Please contact us for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://bookshop.usq.edu.au/contact/)
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Colvin, E & McKechnie, J 2011, Criminal law in Queensland and Western Australia: cases and commentary, 6th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.
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Devereux, J & Blake, M 2012, Kenny criminal law in Queensland and Western Australia, 8th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, New South Wales.
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Shanahan, MJ, Smith, PE & Ryan, S 2012, Carter's criminal law of Queensland, 19th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney, New South Wales.
(also available electronically in LexisNexis AU database accessible via USQ Library website.)
Reference materials
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Bronitt, S & McSherry, B 2010, Principles of criminal law, 3rd edn, Thomson Reuters, Rozelle, New South Wales.
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Burton, K & Mackenzie, G 2006, Butterworths questions and answers: criminal law in Queensland and Western Australia, LexisNexis Butterworths, Sydney, New South Wales.
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Douglas, H, Everton-Moore, K, Harbidge, S & Levy, L 2010, Criminal process in Queensland and Western Australia, Thomson Reuters, Pyrmont, New South Wales.
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Australian guide to legal citation, 2010, 3rd edn, Melbourne University Law Review Association, Melbourne, Victoria.
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LexisNexis concise Australian legal dictionary (latest edition).
Student workload requirements
| Activity | Hours |
|---|---|
| Assessments | 40.00 |
| Directed Study | 50.00 |
| Lectures and Tutorials | 39.00 |
| Private Study | 36.00 |
Assessment details
| Description | Marks out of | Wtg (%) | Due Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS | 0 | 0 | 26 Feb 2013 | (see note 1) |
| ASSIGNMENT - COURT VISIT | 40 | 40 | 16 Apr 2013 | |
| EXAMINATION - PART A | 20 | 20 | End S1 | (see note 2) |
| EXAMINATION - PART B | 40 | 40 | End S1 |
NOTES
- Formative multiple-choice questions will be available weekly through Study Desk. No marks will be entered in Gradebook. Marks and feedback are provided on Study Desk when completing the assessment.
- The examination is scheduled to be held in the end-of-semester examination period. Students will be advised of the official examination date for Examination (Parts A and B) after the timetable has been finalised. The total working time for Examination (Parts A and B) is 2 hours.
Important assessment information
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Attendance requirements:
It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities (such as lectures, tutorials, laboratories and practical work) scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be assessed by them to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration. -
Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
To satisfactorily complete an individual assessment item a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks. (Depending upon the requirements in Statement 4 below, students may not have to satisfactorily complete each assessment item to receive a passing grade in this course.) -
Penalties for late submission of required work:
If students submit assignments after the due date without prior approval of the examiner, then a penalty of 5% of the total marks gained by the student for the assignment may apply for each working day late up to ten working days at which time a mark of zero may be recorded. -
Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. -
Examination information:
This will be an open examination. Candidates may have access to any printed or written material and a calculator during the examination. -
Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
Any Deferred or Supplementary examinations for this course will be held during the next examination period. -
University Student Policies:
Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene University policies and practices. These policies can be found at http://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/search/category/usq_document_policy_type/Student.1.html.
Assessment notes
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Referencing in assignments: Students studying this course as part of a Juris Doctor must use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) style. Students who are not enrolled in the Juris Doctor may use either Harvard (AGPS) or the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (AGLC) in their assignments to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. For AGLC style guide enquiries, consult the AGLC manual from the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/default.htm, or contact the Law librarian. The Harvard (AGPS) style to be used is defined by the USQ Library's referencing guide at http://www.usq.edu.au/library/help/referencing/default.htm.
Other requirements
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Computer, e-mail and Internet access: Students are required to have access to a personal computer, e-mail capabilities and Internet access to UConnect. Current details of computer requirements can be found at http://www.usq.edu.au/ict/students/standards/default.htm.