Humanities News

Legal Studies Updates

Year 12 - Human Rights

Year 12 Legal Studies students are currently studying Unit 4 - Human Rights and completing their final internal assessment. We were blessed to be provided with not one but two guest speakers who provided valuable insight into the Human Rights topic- International Law and Child Abduction.

Below is a summary from Tristan Woods, 12 Ignatius:

On Tuesday 7 May, the Year 12 Legal Studies class hosted Dr Gina Masterton and her sister Rebecca Masterton, both accomplished Indigenous members of the legal and real estate communities, to assist us with our Unit 4 assessments. We started the session with an Acknowledgement of Country to welcome our speakers, before delving into some issues surrounding international child abduction in Australia and how the Hague Convention, the international covenant that governs this area of family law, has had an adverse effect on victims of abuse who flee back to Australia, particularly mothers and their children. Dr Masterton spoke passionately of past cases she had worked on and how Australia could possibly solve this problem, and Rebecca recounted her own experience of being ‘Hagued’ in the past. I’m sure I speak for all the boys when I say we valued the insight and valuable information our speakers provided us and will ensure to utilize this info in our argumentative essays. Overall, it was an excellent experience and a pleasure to listen to the Masterton's, and I thank Mrs Franklin for organising the opportunity for us.

Year 11 Legal Studies Court Excursion

The Year 11 Legal Studies class embarked on an educational excursion to the Brisbane District Court. The purpose of this outing was to augment their understanding of the concept of "Beyond Reasonable Doubt" and to conduct research pertinent to their forthcoming FA2 assignment, which focuses on Punishment and Sentencing. Below are firsthand accounts provided by students regarding their experiences during the excursion.

From Charlie Garton, 11 Gilroy

On Friday 26 April, our class partook in an excursion to the Brisbane District and Supreme Courthouse. Listening in on fascinating cases and speaking directly to experienced Judges, such as Judge Nathan Jarro, a Marist College Ashgrove Old Boy, the class learnt some valuable information which will be relevant for our upcoming assignment. It was a fun and eye-opening day as well as some bonding for the class. Overall, a great day full of learning and new experiences, Thanks to Ms Taylor and Mrs Franklin for organising, as well as Mr Walton and Ms Fitzgerald for Supervising.

From Benjamin Wex, 11 Ridley

To assist with our Legal Studies assessments in Unit 2, we in the Year 11 Legal Studies class went on an excursion to the Queensland Supreme and District Courts in Brisbane CBD. Our journey began at 8:00am for an early departure. We were accompanied by our teacher for this term, Ms Franklin, as well as Mr Walton and pre-service teacher Ms Brooke Fitzgerald. We were introduced to one of the supreme court librarians, Kirsten Murray, who would be taking us for a session later in the day to go through research strategies for our assignment. Kirsten led us upstairs where we would be meeting Judge Nathan Jarro, a Marist College Ashgrove Old Boy and Queensland's only Indigenous District Court Judge. Before our meeting, we were able to view the courtroom where he would be sentencing people later in the day. It struck most of us how different the courtroom was to our expectations, much of which was formed from portrayals on TV. Judge Jarro told us about his work and about his cases later in the day, as well as the process for sentencing. After our meeting, we were provided with a list of the cases which we could go to, as is our rights as members of the public. We saw three District Court sentences, one by the Honourable Judge Lourey KC and two by the aforementioned Honourable Judge Nathan Jarro. After lunch, Kirsten went through many research techniques that would be useful for our assignment, as well as potential topics to talk about. Overall, our trip to the courts was an eye-opening experience to this fundamental part to our democracy which we always assume that it happens but differently to our expectations. Particularly with our meeting with Judge Jarro, some of us would have expected some sort of grandeur from him, but instead we were met with a very normal person who was in the same position as us during his time at Marist College Ashgrove. 

Year 10 - Crime Incursion

From Harper Frazier, 10 Ignatius

Last Friday, our Year 10 Legal Studies class had an inspiring incursion with Inspector Mick Ackery from the Queensland Police Force, who spoke about his career and assisted us with our assignment. At the start of the visit, our class was able to ask Inspector Ackery about his career which consisted of being a Detective, to working undercover and more recently in a senior commanding position. Following this chat, we inspected the well-presented “crime scene” in the library which is part of our upcoming assignment. The incursion was really engaging with Detective Inspector Ackery performing an interview with a victim and giving us helpful advice on how to effectively draw evidence. This was a very insightful and enjoyable experience, and our class is very thankful to Detective Inspector Mick Ackery for taking time out of his day to help us.

Issac Scomazzon, 10 Ridley 

On the 10th of March, our legal studies class had a crime scene incursion in the school library. We were lucky to have Detective Inspector Mick Ackery join us, he told us about his life and what it was like growing up in the police force. DI Ackery told us about his undercover experiences and helped us with a few questions, particularly about how evidence is categorized. We then conducted an investigation, similar to how the police would do this.  It was informative and a great experience to see DI Mick Ackery interview a witness to the crime, allowing us to see what a proper interview should look like.  Overall, it was a fun incursion and we learnt more about the legal system in Queensland. 

Year 9 - Sports Integrity Legislation

This term Year 9s are focusing on sports integrity, particularly the legislation and regulations around doping in sport. They were fortunate to have ex-Olympian Keryn McMaster come in to speak with them about her experience as a high-performance athlete. Thank you to Keryn for giving up her time!

Want to visit the Courts?

Take a guided tour during these winter school holidays. During the court vacation period (24 June to 5 July) when fewer cases are heard, we are facilitating a guided tour of the QEII Courts of Law (Brisbane) for anyone who wants to know more about the law on Monday 24 June, 10:30am to 11:30am. Book your free ticket now.