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Law for Psychologists 2 - LAWS9810
 Law Books

 
Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Faculty of Law
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 2
 
 
Fee Band: 3 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
  

Description

The course is a postgraduate elective. It is available to postgraduate psychology students. The course examines systematically and in-depth major principles of Australian law governing arrest and search and seizure, matters relevant to the Accused, the Prosecution, the Judge and the Jury and trial procedure and an introduction to evidence law. As well as investigating many practical problems in applying the law, the course makes a sustained attempt to assist students to obtain a broad understanding of the framework of pre-trial and trial procedure.


Recommended Prior Knowledge

The course is a postgraduate elective. It is available to postgraduate psychology students.

Course Objectives

  • To assist students to develop a functional and contextual knowledge of major areas of interest to psychologists that concern criminal law principles and issues, court procedure and the aspects of evidence law in an historical and socio-political context
  • To assist students to develop further their capacities for disciplined analysis of facts and critical analytical skills concentrating on the legal principles as they affect criminal law, procedural law and evidence law
  • To stimulate students to examine the criminal and procedural law in a social and historical context. This will involve comparing the position and power of the proponents in the criminal trial, noting the roles that each proponent undertakes and the way in which procedural and substantive law might be utilized by some of these proponents. Students should thus develop a critical understanding of and sensitivity to the way the criminal law, procedural law and evidence law operate in practice.

Main Topics

  • An Introduction to issues associated with policing, arrest, and search
  • The accused, the prosecution, the judge and the jury
  • An introduction to evidence law
  • Experts as witnesses, the accused and limitations on evidence - tendency and coincidence evidence and character of the accused

Assessment

Class participation 20%
Court report questionnaire 20%
Court report essay or Research essay 3,500 - 4,000 words 60%
 

Course Texts

Prescribed
Course Materials are available from the University Bookshop.

Recommended
Many additional resources for students of criminal law and procedure can be located (via Sirius or the Library Resource database) through the UNSW Law Library: http:///www.info.library.unsw.edu.au/law/about/law.html

Resources

Course Materials are available from the University Bookshop.

URL for this page:

© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.