Re: "To what extent are courts the only means of achieveing justice within the cjs...
I did this for my half-yearly and got 14/15.
(Note, I'm shooting off the top of my head, take nothing I say seriously)
The criminal justice system facilitates various methods of achieving just and fair outcomes. The Criminal Justice system plays a multifaceted role induced by its core aim of balancing the rights of victims, offenders and society. Through the application of judicial discretion in accordance with statutory and judicial guidelines in the courts as well as facilitating various alternative methods of sentencing pertaining to specific circumstances, the criminal justice system achieves just and fair outcomes.
Something a long that line, I don't remember was my introduction...
Looked at the courts, evaluated the extent to which they achieve justice through features such as
-The application of discretion e.g. 'How the use of discretion balances the rights of victims, offenders and society'
-Adversarial nature of the law e.g. 'The adversarial system of law which is encompassed throughout all elements of the criminal trial process allows tensions between individual rights and freedoms and communal interests to be balanced.' It does this by facilitating a fair trial where the prosecution represents the interests of the community and the defence that of the offender before an impartial, autonomous judge bound by laws which reflect communal values'. +Case Study etc. Supporting.
-Victim Impact Statements, 'Under the Crime Sentencing Procedure Act 1997 by way of the 'Victims Rights Act 1996' (2006 Amendment) permits 'victims of crime' to read 'victim impact statements' in sentencing, thus facilitating a voice for the victim. In the case of R v Thomson, the sentencing judge stipulated, 'VIS's are a valuable material upon which a sentencing judge may refer'. etc. etc.
-'Schedule 7 of the Uniform Procedure Rules 2005, expert witnesses have an 'overriding duty' to the courts, preventing them from making false statements for personal gain 'Mouths for Hire 2003', thus ensuring testimony presented before the courts is factual, preventing wealthy individuals from perverting the course of justice... thereby achieving just and fair outcomes (something like that).
(Concluding Judgement on Courts)
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-However, alternative methods of sentencing such as Youth Justice Conferencing have proven equally as effective in achieving just and fair outcomes, particularly for young offenders. As the law reflects the morals and ethics of the society it purports to regulate, the primary focus in dealing with young offenders is rehabilitation. Under the 'Young Offenders Act 1997 (NSW)' and to a lesser extent 'Criminal Proceedings Act 1987 (NSW)', 'the sustenance of family ties is pivotal for the reintegration of an offender back into society. However, the rehabilitation focus can often be questioned especially when the offence is indictable in nature. In the case of R v LMW... etc.......... Nonetheless, **effective means of dealing with young offenders YJC, '2002 Australian Institute of Criminology Report' youths are 30% less likely to re offend than if they had attended a children court..... *how it achieves justice for the community and victim e.g. 'effectively rehabilitates young offenders which is also in the best interests of society'.
+ Circle Sentencing..... cbf... 'Robert Bolt Case', 'SMH 2003 Innovative Sentencing Method Breaks Vicious Cycle of Jail, 1 in 28 Recidivism rate'.
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Hopefully that helped and is factually accurate as I have not practiced that essay for a while.
