Year 10 Magistrates Court

Mrs Anna Anetoudis, Ms Angeliki Vogiatzoglou, and Ms Helen Bourozikas, accompanied by Mrs Anderson, Mr Stone and Mr Raulin, took their Year 10 classes to the Magistrates’ Court in Term 1, providing them with an invaluable opportunity to witness the legal system in action.

During the excursion, students observed real cases being heard, gaining first-hand insight into court proceedings. They had the chance to see key legal personnel in their roles, including the Magistrate, bench clerk, police prosecutor, and defence lawyers. Students watched the formal procedures of the court unfold, such as the presentation of cases, the questioning of defendants, and the decision-making process. This experience provided a deeper understanding of how justice is administered at the Magistrates’ Court level.

Our students did us proud with their respectful and exemplary behaviour throughout the visit. They engaged thoughtfully, demonstrated a keen interest in the legal process, and represented their school with maturity and integrity.

The excursion was an exceptional opportunity for students to apply their classroom learning on the court hierarchy and the jurisdiction of different courts to real-life scenarios. Seeing the legal system operate first-hand reinforced their knowledge and enhanced their appreciation of the importance of due process in upholding justice.

Student Reflections

Going to the Dandenong Court was a great experience for me. All the law and criminal stuff really interests me, so this was very exciting for me. Seeing the Magistrates and lawyers in action makes me want to start studying law. A case that stood out to me was a breach of an intervention order case, as it took the longest time. This one interested me the most because the accused had repeated his actions, and in the end the Magistrate denied bail. All of the cases were really interesting, and I was lucky enough to hear 6 cases, such as assault offences, speeding, drug and alcohol abuses, driving whilst suspended, and a drug blood sample one. Walking in the court, I started to feel a bit nervous, as we had to go through a security detector and take all our jackets off. After all the cases had been adjourned, we as a group walked to Dandenong Plaza and had lunch there. I had a great time and it's definitely something I would remember. Skye M

I really enjoyed the excursion because it was so interesting to see all the court proceedings happen in front of me. One thing that surprised me was the fact that the accused could attend the court hearing through a zoom meeting, this was a shock because I thought that you could only attend the court proceeding in person even if you are in remand (which all the accused that I saw were). A pattern that I saw was that the bigger the demand on the accused's part or the more serious the issue the longer the court would be in session. For example, the cases that were just asking to adjourn the matter to a later date were done within minutes, but the cases that were requesting for a bail application or requesting for release of the accused took way longer, like 50 minutes or more. Besides this, the whole experience really made me feel interested in studying criminal law, more than I was already interested in it since I want to study criminal psychology when I'm older anyway. Overall, I really enjoyed the excursion and am very grateful for the opportunity, so thank you so much Miss. 

Khadija A

Going to the Magistrates’ court was a really good experience, it was eye opening to see how things run and the type of cases that the Magistrates’ court deals with. I feel as though I have a deeper understanding of how court runs and operates. It surprised me when almost all of the hearings I was in needed a translator as non-english speakers would not have been able to understand the law or the process without an interpreter. I am grateful for the experience. Lachlan A

I really enjoyed our trip to the Dandenong Magistrates Court.  I found the actual courts and it very interesting. The layout and where everyone had to sit was very eye-opening.  We saw some very serious cases like assaults and some drug abuse ones as well. I found the job of the lawyer or defence extremely interesting as they had to try and persuade the Magistrate that their client wasn't guilty, and they deserve bail or something better. One of the lawyers was very good and very convincing. I really enjoyed going to the court and would love to go again. Sophie B

Going to the Magistrate court was a fun experience, it was cool to see all the different cases and how they work. My favourite part was seeing this case were the guy had to go into the prisoner’s dock, his case wasn’t too serious, but I enjoyed seeing what the lawyers and Magistrate do. I liked how the Magistrate spoke to us and explained what she, the clerk and the police prosecution do. Overall, it was a good experience and I would recommended people to go. Yianni S

Going to the Dandenong Magistrates Court was a really interesting time. It opened by eyes to what the legal system and what court proceedings are like. We got to see many different cases and how the court handles these various types of cases. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to attend this excursion. Jenna W

Going to the Magistrate court was so fascinating and interesting to me. It had a security system to enter the court, with someone having a metal detector and how we placed things like our jackets down in tray while we got searched. It was cool how there were different rooms for cases depending on the severity and the way we had to bow down when we entered the court room and bow when we left each room. The cases stuck out to me, like the breach of intervention order case whilst the accused was previously on bail. The court ended by refusing the bail request. I had a great time looking at the different court cases and how oath was presented, saying they swear to tell the truth. We later went to Dandenong Plaza. Overall, we had a great time, and it was a great experience. It made me find more interests. Leann H

During the excursion, the thing I enjoyed about the Magistrates’ court was when I was able to observe how courts operated and how lawyers represent their clients. Another thing I was able to observe was how respectful everyone was at the Magistrates’ court. What I learned during the excursion was that when the lawyer and defendant needed to discuss things, everyone in the courtroom must leave, including the judge. Calvin L

The Magistrates' Court gave me a good insight on how out justice system works and how streamlined the process is. Some cases only took a few minutes, even if there's a few minutes of silence as the Magistrate makes a decision on what consequences they should dish out. They were mostly intervention order breaches and driving offences cases that I was there for, and it was interesting to find out what they did and how the lawyers, Magistrate, and accused reacted. It was certainly an interesting experience overall, certainly better than an average school day. Benny S