Glossary

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Taking Facts Seriously:Fact-finding Evidence Proof - LAWS8195

Faculty: Faculty of Law

School: Faculty of Law

Course Outline: See below

Campus: Sydney

Career: Postgraduate

Units of Credit: 6

EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)

Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 24

Enrolment Requirements:

Prerequisite: Academic Program must be either 9200 or 9210 or 9230 or 5740 or 9235 or 5235 or 9285 or 5285

Excluded: JURD7595

CSS Contribution Charge: 3 (more info)

Tuition Fee: See Tuition Fee Schedule

Further Information: See Class Timetable

View course information for previous years.

Description

This course takes a theoretically sophisticated but practically orientated look at how facts that may constitute evidence are used to prove particular outcomes in legal settings. It is not in any way a conventional course about the law of evidence. Rather, it is primarily about the nature of factual inference and it stresses the practical salience of forms of inquiries, for example in formulating and interpreting forensic science evidence. It considers how 'evidence' might establish 'proof' in terms of story-telling and trial narratives, as well as through formalised representations of inferential relationships (such as Wigmore charts and Bayes nets) and calculations of probability. Through classroom exercises that illustrate these theoretical approaches, the course aims to help students better understand how evidence gathering, presentation and forensic fact-finding is accomplished in legal proceedings and also how to think about and 'do' evidence and proof.

LLM Specialisations

Criminal Justice and Criminology
Dispute Resolution

Recommended Prior Knowledge

Students enrolled in Programs 9285/5285 must have completed LAWS8090 and LAWS8101.

Course Aims

This course aims to help students better understand how evidence gathering, presentation and forensic fact-finding is accomplished in legal proceedings and to equip students with the practical skills to marshal, present and criticise inferential arguments based on mixed masses of evidence.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has successfully completed this course should be able to:

Demonstrate a functioning and contextual knowledge of inferential reasoning in a legal process context;
Demonstrate, through independent research and charting exercises, how to accomplish evidence gathering and forensic fact finding in legal proceedings;
Demonstrate effective written communication skills as evidenced by rigorous analysis, reflection and an ability to make informed judgments about proving facts and drawing inferences from facts in a legal process context;
Demonstrate effective oral communication skills by debating and discussing course concepts in a scholarly and reflective manner.

Assessment

Class Participation - 10%
Minor Charting Exercise - 20%
Final Charting Exercise and Reflective Essay - 70%

Course Texts

A full reading list will be provided in the course outline.