2019 T2 JURD7251/LAWS2351 Court Process, Evidence and Proof

ADVANCED COURT OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT - INSTRUCTIONS

Due: 4pm, Monday 22 July 2019 (online)
Worth: 30% of your final mark for Court Process, Evidence & Proof
Word/Time Limit: 2000 words or 10 minutes

1. 2019 T2 Advanced Court Observation Assignment

This assignment requires you to observe witness questioning in criminal proceedings and report on your
observations in the form of a report or short audio or video presentation. This is a group assignment and
can be completed in either a pair or group of three. You can select your own group members. The word
limit/length is the same regardless of the size of the group. Each member of the group must fulfill the
court attendance requirements (see below), but you do not need to attend court at the same time.
2019 T2 Topic and Content
“Memories for experienced events are always incomplete. Memories are time-compressed
fragmentary records of experience. Any account of a memory will feature forgotten details and
gaps, and this must not be taken as any sort of indicator of accuracy”.1
Critically discuss this statement with reference to examples drawn from your own
observations of witness questioning.
Your Advanced Court Observation Assignment must respond to the topic above through an analysis of
your own court observations of criminal trials in NSW. In your assignment you should develop a critical
analysis of up to three episodes of observed witness questioning in light of the topic above.2 The
analysis of your observations needs to include:
• A form of introduction which clearly addresses the topic, explaining your overall
argument/perspective in relation to your observations;
• a brief description of the observed courtroom questioning. This might include some of
the actual exchange between witness and questioner, but do not devote excessive space
to transcription/re-enactment;
• a critical commentary and analysis of your observations, in light of the topic above,
discussing rules of admissibility and procedure relating to: witness questioning and the
assessment of credibility, fundamental trial principles and professional obligations, and,
proof. Your commentary should also draw on academic and/or judicial commentary
applicable to the episode(s) of questioning that you observed.
Relevant law for this assignment and additional research
The focus of this assignment is on fundamental trial principles (including proof), professional obligations,
witness questioning and the admissibility of evidence relevant to assessing the credibility of witnesses.
That is, the focus is on ss 12-46, 55-57; 101A-108C, 135-137, ss 140 - 144 of the UEL, and other relevant
procedural rules relating to witness questioning and professional obligations. 3 You should refer at a
minimum to relevant sections, cases, and secondary materials (including the textbook) from the course.
You should also undertake some additional independent research to develop the critical analysis of your
observations and, where necessary, clarify your understanding of the relevant rules.4

1 British Psychological Society Research Board, Guidelines on Memory and the Law: Recommendations from the
Scientific Study of Human Memory (British Psychological Society, 2008), reproduced with permission at
https://www.judcom.nsw.gov.au/publications/benchbks/sexual_assault/british-
guidelines_on_memory_and_the_law.html.
2 Your report can also discuss issues relating to the witness’s evidence that were raised on the voir dire and/or judicial

directions given in relation to the episodes of questioning you observed.

3 The witness questioning you observe may raise other rules or procedures not covered in weeks 1 – 4. You should

be cautious about discussing other UEL rules and should only do so as a subsidiary issue to the law that is the main
focus of this assignment. Discuss with your lecturer(s) if you are concerned about the appropriate direction of your
assignment or you have questions about specific rules/topics.
4 Note: referring to primary or secondary sources cited in the footnotes of the textbook, as if you had read the original

source, is not independent additional research. You should cite the source you have actually accessed and used.
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Marking Criteria
Please review the sample feedback rubric available on Moodle. Taking into account the grading criteria
in the Course Information section on Moodle, your Advanced Court Observation Assignment will be
assessed on:
• accuracy of analysis of the relevant law;
• demonstrated understanding of fundamental trial principles, including the role of the judge,
prosecutor and/or defence;
• demonstrated ability to critically analyse issues and observations within an appropriate
theoretical/critical framework;
• the breadth and depth of understanding of the relevant course content, and the sophistication
with which you demonstrate this understanding in your assignment, including the development
of your own perspective;
• the amount of effort you have applied, including conducting some relevant independent
research, and the extent to which you have been prepared to explore issues;
• the writing quality (or equivalent for an audiovisual presentation), including accuracy, clarity of
expression, use of appropriate vocabulary, thoughtful and effective structure, complete,
consistent and correct referencing and appropriate acknowledgment of sources.
2. Court Attendance Requirements
Please read carefully the Guide to Behaviour in Court on moodle, prior to attending court.
Every student is expected to observe one or more criminal trial(s) in courts in NSW, for a minimum of 2
sitting days (or equivalent). At least one of the trials you observe must be a jury trial. This assignment
must be based on observations undertaken in T2, 2019. If you are conducting observations for any
another course at the same time as your observations for this course, please discuss this with your
lecturer. All written content submitted for this assignment must be original, and not included in any other
assignment submitted for any other course at UNSW.
You should timetable court attendance to ensure you complete your observations well before the due
date. Information about the different courts in Sydney, as well as court listings can be found at
http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au.
Details of your court attendance should be recorded in an Appendix or on the cover page to your
assignment. You must include separate details for each member of your pair/group. Your appendix/cover
page must list:
i. court(s) attended, dates and times you attended, name of the trial judge; the main
charge/s (in general terms);
ii. name of the case. NOTE: if the case you watched is subject to a not-for-publication
order you must abide by its terms, for example, by anonymising any identifying
details of witnesses or the defendant. If you are unsure about how to comply with a
not-for-publication order please discuss this with your lecturer
iii. where relevant any other UNSW course(s) for which you have conducted court
observations and the details of those.
The details of court attendance in the Appendix/Cover Page are NOT included in the Word Count.
4. Format of the Assignment
Students can choose to complete this assignment as a report or in an alternative format. You may form
a pair/group with students from other classes taught by the same lecturer(s) without seeking additional
permission.5 All students in the pair or group will receive the same mark. No submissions to modify the
mark for any individual member of the pair or group will be considered. 6

5 With the written permission of both lecturers, you can form a group with students taught by a different lecturer,
but you will not be able to elect which of those lecturers marks your submission.
6 Please notify your lecturer if you initially formed a group that subsequently splintered and reconfigured into new

groups before the submission date.

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Format 1: Report
The Report, like the other formats, must be focused on an analysis of your observations in response to
the topic. The Report should not be a generalised, essay on witnesses and/or witness questioning or
witness memory. It can include images or diagrams and can be episodic and/or creative in its presentation
of your observations. The hard copy of the Report should be printed single sided, 1 ½ spaced and include
footnote references and a bibliography in line with the Australian Guide to Legal Citation.
The word length for the Report is 2000 words. The word limit will be calculated by reference to all the
text in the body of the report (including any substantive attachments or appendices). The appendix
detailing your court attendance is not included in the word count. Footnotes that contain only citations
or other references are not included in the word count. A 10% leeway will be permitted for this
assignment, however penalties for exceeding the word limit by more than 10% may be imposed in
accordance with the UNSW Law Assessment Policy.
Format 2: short film or audio recording
Instead of a report, you may opt to make a short film or audio recording (or other audio-visual format).
Film and audio assignments should be ten minutes long and must be submitted in a readily readable
format. The length of the audio-visual assignment must be recorded clearly on an attached label. Ideally,
a transcript/storyboard should be provided. You should also provide a bibliography. References can be
embedded in the audio-visual, (and are not counted in the time) or provided separately (eg. a list of time
stamped notes). Penalties may apply, in line with the UNSW Law policy, if the audio/visual recording
exceeds 11 minutes. Credit sequences/references at the end of the audio/video are not included in the
time limit.
Students opting for this format may apply to expand the size of their group, up to a maximum of five
students. Please discuss with your lecturer if you believe you can make a case for an expanded group.
Under NO circumstances should audio-visual assignments be posted online to a publicly accessible
platform (such as YouTube). If you post your video/audio online on a website that is accessible to the
public (outside of your group and your lecturer(s)) this will be referred to the Head of School and your
grade may be affected. This stipulation continues to apply after T2 2019, and until all cases discussed in
the report/AV have concluded (including all appeals and/or other avenues of review). And since you
will not be able to determine this conclusively, you should not post anything on any open online platform.
5. Procedure for Submission of Assignments
All students must meet the submission deadline (4pm, Monday 22 July 2019) by online submission via
Moodle/Turnitin. Penalties for late submission can be found in the Law School Assessment Policy.
For alternative formats, you can meet the submission deadline by the submission of a document
containing the appendix detailing court attendance, bibliography and, if possible, a transcript or
‘storyboard’ outlining the structure of your AV submission. In this online submission you should also
include a secure, password protected link to your audio/visual alternative format assignment.
Students enrolled in classes at Kensington should ALSO submit a printed hard copy of your report, or of
the associated documentation to Level 2, Law School Student Services by 4pm, Tuesday, 23 July 2019.
Students in the CBD class should consult their lecturers for instructions about when and where to hand
in the hard copy.
For the alternative formats this ‘hard copy’ submission should include the documentation uploaded to
turnitin, and a labelled USB or equivalent containing your audio/visual file, enclosed in a paper envelope
with the Law School Cover Sheet attached.
Obviously, the printed/USB copy submitted must be the same as the version submitted online.
Please, make sure that ALL of the names of your group are included on the cover sheet.
We look forward to reading, watching and hearing about your observations.

Annie Cossins, Mehera San Roque (Convenors) and the CPEP teaching team.