Toowoomba Magistrate judges USQ students

Magistrate Kay Ryan with Associate Professor Anthony Gray (L) and Richard Mahler

A unique partnership between USQ and a leading Toowoomba magistrate gave local law student’s valuable ‘real world’ experience as part of a moot court at the University recently.

The law students argued a case about bikie gang laws before Magistrate Kay Ryan, who was invited by the University to judge the Constitutional Law Moot, in what was not only a great opportunity for the students but also a chance for USQ Law to strengthen its relationship with the law community.

'A moot is a mock trial in a mock court and is an important event for our students, as it gives them a taste of what being in court is like,” Moot organiser and USQ Law lecturer Richard Mahler said.

'It’s great preparation for their legal careers.

'When we approached Magistrate Ryan she was more than happy to take part in something so beneficial to our law students.

'The students received feedback from someone who works on the bench, which is great exposure to legal processes.

'It was a great community engagement exercise for the USQ School of Law and both our students and academics who attended benefitted from it.'

Students argued a case currently being heard in the High Court relating to laws addressing bikie gang violence.

'Anti-bikie laws being declared invalid in South Australia is a highly relevant issue,' Mr Mahler said.

'This was a very meaningful point of law to argue in order to expand students’ knowledge of the Constitution.'

With an overwhelmingly positive response from all involved, Mr Mahler said that the moot court would become a regular event.

'This was the first time we have held something like this and Magistrate Ryan and the students really enjoyed themselves.

'Magistrate Ryan said she would be really interested in returning every year to take part, so I could see this becoming an annual event for the School of Law.

'We are currently preparing to hold a similar event judged by another member of the judiciary in Semester 2.

'The Toowoomba judiciary are committed to USQ and that can only mean good things for our students.'

Contact Details:
Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 2559 or 0400 025 429