To what extent does the South Australian legal system guarantee justice?

Authors Avatar by heisthebest123ymailcom (student)

Humanities - Ryan Lovell

Legal Studies Essay        

To what extent does the South Australian legal system guarantee justice?

For the most part, the South Australian legal system guarantees justice, although being vulnerable to human manipulation and corruption.  Doctrine of precedent, the process of appeal and the use of a jury ensure that accused individuals are given a fair trial and sentence.  The system is built to be impartial, so that regardless of race, religion, or gender individuals will be treated under the same rules. That being said, with more funds available, the defendant in a legal case may be able to hire a better legal team, and reduce their sentence severity.

Judges in South Australia use doctrine of precedent to determine a fair sentence based on prior sentences for similar offences. This ensures that an individual receives a sentence relative to what other people are given. In the case of  R  v  PETER ATHANASAS, the judge references two cases in the sentencing remarks. Both R v Dubois and R v Telford cases are mentioned by the District court judge, as reference and justification for the sentence being dealt. Both of the mentioned cases involved a similar offence to that committed by the defendant, Mr. Athanasas. The judge conveys that not only must his sentence abide by the parameters of the other two cases, but also as a deterrent to future criminals who intend to commit the same crime.

Join now!

“It is stealing in this case, stealing on a grand scale and deterrence must therefore be a predominant factor in sentencing”.

Although mentioning doctrine of precedent in sentencing remarks isn’t required as mandatory in Magistrates, District or Supreme Courts, judges are required to take prior cases into consideration, and are given very specify guidelines as to which punishments they can distribute for specific offenses.  This ensures that justice is guaranteed when a convicted individual is sentenced.

The use of a jury in the District and Supreme Court guarantees that any accused individuals will be judged by twelve neutral jurors. This means ...

This is a preview of the whole essay