Year 12 Legal Studies

County Court Excursion

Unit 4, Area of Study 2 focuses on the court processes and procedures for indictable criminal offences. This includes the role of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP), the accused and the jury if the accused enters a plea of “not guilty” in a criminal trial.

On Thursday 31st August, the Year 12 Legal Studies class visited the County Court in Melbourne to extend their understanding of the Area of Study 2.

Before visiting the Courtrooms we were very fortunate to have a Senior Solicitor from the OPP, Mark Subljak volunteer his time to talk to us for an hour about his role at the OPP, and first-hand experience of the criminal pre-trial and trial processes and procedures.  

Mark Subljak candidly discussed his career pathway into Law and current role at the OPP, Victoria’s largest criminal legal practice. Mark has spent the past twelve years at the OPP and his experience and enthusiasm in criminal law and justice was evident to us all. Mark, indeed enjoys working at the OPP, and believes it is a privilege to have the role of preparing and presenting court matters against people accused of serious crime on behalf of the Victorian community.

“All people who commit crime eventually all get caught and it is our job, on behalf of the community, to make sure they are brought before a Judge and Jury (if a plea of “Not Guilty”) and based on our presentation of the evidence can prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the accused is guilty. The victim(s) and their families as well as the community deserve to feel safe and have justice served.” Mark

Following the talk, Mark invited us into Courtroom 2, for a Plea Hearing. We sat patiently for the Judge to arrive, while the accused sat nervously in the Dock at the back of the Courtroom and the Defence Barrister and OPP Crown Prosecutor Barrister and solicitor busily sorted through their files/documents.

All our studying about the strict courtroom procedures and role of the Judge soon became our real-life experience when the Tipstaff firmly called:  “Silence and All stand as Judge Cannon enters her Courtroom.”

Complete silence and utter respect for “Your Honour” filtered the courtroom and it became apparent very quickly that Judge Cannon was in total control of her courtroom.

The accused entered a plea of guilty and at this point we assumed it would be a rather short court session, however, it triggered intense and intriguing detail of questioning by Judge Cannon. It became apparent that she was preparing to sentence the accused and wanted all the relevant evidence to assist her. Both Barristers were kept on track and warned a number of times to keep the evidence relevant. The hearing concluded with Judge Cannon explaining to the accused that he could expect a suspended sentence and would remain on bail until his sentence hearing. Judge Cannon was quick to clarify that suspended sentences have been abolished in Victoria for all offences committed on or after 1 September, 2014 and an option because the accused had committed the crime in 2011. We know she did this for the sake of our students, but thankfully they had prior knowledge of this and sat confidently and attentively throughout the hearing.

After two hours the hearing ended and we stood and bowed as Judge Cannon left her courtroom. Much to the delight of our students, the Crown Prosecutor and his solicitor addressed the students to congratulate and acknowledge their respectful conduct throughout the lengthy hearing. After removing his wig in a more relaxed setting, he passed his wig, which we learnt was made from horse’s hair around and answered questions from our students. He explained that the Crown Prosecutors are experienced criminal barristers who are appointed to work exclusively for the DPP and are allocated the most serious and complex cases. We were in awe and captivated by his presence as we had witnessed his delivery of facts and evidence to the judge and could now ask him any question that we wanted to about his job and experience as a QC Crown Prosecutor. Our students began to roll out their questions and we were enlightened by his responses.

Our experience at the County Court on the 31st August was indeed an experience of a life time. Our knowledge of Court Processes and Criminal Law proved to be motivational and an effective means of enhancing our classroom learning and curriculum.

The Year 12 Legal Studies students represented Melton Secondary College proudly and in fact told by the Tipstaff of courtroom 2 and the Crown Prosecutor that we would be welcome back anytime in Judge Cannon’s courtroom and are to be congratulated for our impeccable behaviour and insightful questions.

Congratulations Year 12 Legal Studies students for your enthusiasm, gratitude and exemplary representation of MSC.

Ms Fran Cometti