SHANNON GRIBBLE

COURT REPORT

20111507

During the process of visiting courts for this court report i observed a total of 4 cases. This consisted of a : Criminal Court Case in Parramatta Trial District Court Criminal Court Case in Parramatta Local Court Criminal Court Case in the Downing Centre Local Court Civil Court Case in the Downing Centre Local Court For the purpose of this report i will refer to them as Criminal Case 1,2,3 and Civil Case 1 1. Who was in the courtroom when you attended? Who appeared to be in charge? In all three of my criminal court observations a Magistrate presided over the court and i found them to be very active especially when handing down sentences and advising the jury. In the main Case that i will refer too, Criminal Case 1, there was a Crown Prosecutor from the DPP named Mr Huges and was always referred to as the Crown or Mr Crown, with him was a Solicitor named Johnothan Jiales also from the DPP who was very helpful in advising me in understand the proceedings and answering my queries. As there were 2 Defendents there were to Barristers working with them named Jeff Dedwen and Mr Williams. A jury was also present consisting of 6 men and 6 women who sat on the opposite side of the room to the defendants. Below the magistrate sat the court officer and court reporter. 2. 3. 4. Did the accused have legal representation? Was it a Legal Aid lawyer, private solicitor or barrister? Who was prosecuting - a legal practitioner, The DPP or a police prosecutor? Briefly describe the subject matter of the case/s you observed. If you met a friendly court officer or practitioner, he/she may explain things to you during a adjournment. When attending the Parramatta Courts I heard 2 criminal matters, one at the local court and one at the District Trial courts. Criminal Case 2 was a sentencing of a man in his late 50s who was in a car accident which was induced by alcohol. This was hard to follow at times as the barrister mumbled, I would have attempted to ask a court officer for some direction however the court was so full with matters to
WORK STREET WORK CITY, WORK STATE WORK ZIP WORK URL

SHANNON GRIBBLE

FROM THE DESK OF

be heard it was too difficult to do so. Criminal Case 1 was a trial that had begun 2 days previous and was expected to last for another week, It was a conspiracy case against 3 accused, one who had been previously tried and found guilty and this case involving 2 defendants. The defendants were believe to have befriended an older man in order to conspire against him and embezzle his assets after his death in 2010. In the Downing Centre i observed a criminal sentencing of a man who plead guilty to hitting a cyclist while stationary at an intersection. Due to a huge back up at the courts many matters were redirected to other courts and caused mass delays and confusion. During this time a Chief Magistrate, Justice : Informed us of the case and the reasoning for her sentence which was very helpful and insightful. In addition, at the Downing Centre I heard a civil matter involving the plaintiff requesting damages to be paid after a car accident. I found this case relevant to the court report as the defendant did not speak english and the use of translator was very depended on during the proceedings. While driving the defendant while stationed in the middle lane turned right over 2 lanes into oncoming traffic causing him to be hit my another car on the opposite side of the road. 5. 6. 7. 8. Did you fully understand what was going on? Did you get a sense that the accused understood the proceedings? Was english the accused primary language? Was an interpreter used? Was any evidence presented? What Kind? Did any witnesses give evidence? did you see any examination in chief or cross examination? If you saw a sentencing hearing, what factors were argued in mitigation and/or aggravation of a sentence? were any witnesses called as to character? Were any psychological or Probation & Parole reports discussed? What reasons were given be the Magistrate/Judge for the particular sentence? what was the sentence? Is this how you imagined the practice of criminal law to be? If not, describe how did it differ?

9.

10. If you could change something about the proceedings/events you observed, what would it be and why?
PAGE 2