Tuesday morning in the third last week of term and the Unit 1 Legal Studies students are off to court, many for the first time. No, not to face charges, but to observe court proceedings. Michael thought we were off for a picnic complete with cutlery and strawberries but it was court instead. Otherwise no real issues, except the ones presented by the accused in court.
There was quite a line-up at the court offices(most unknown but some familiar) with a cross section of the community involved in cases ranging from license renewals, driving over the legal limit, Intervention Orders, theft, assault and committal proceedings for more serious crimes. Whilst it would be fair to say there were many adjournments and ‘no appearances’ for the sake of the class, nevertheless there was still much to be learned.
The Magistrate Dr. King, was kind enough to share some of his experiences with the students and offer explanation of the court processes. The students were admirably well behaved and asked both relevant and intelligent questions of both court personnel and the teacher. We all learned much from the morning and will be just a little more careful not to enrage people on mobility scooters, but you will need to ask the students more about that mystery …
Stewart Cheal (Legal Studies Teacher)
