Legal Studies
Year 11 Legal Studies - Virtual Supreme Court of Victoria
On 18 August, Unit 2 Legal Studies students had a “virtual excursion” to the Supreme Court of Victoria – a video call with His Honour Justice Tim Ginnane and his two Associates, James D’Alessandro and Hayley Gould.
We all came met via an MS Teams video call using the new meeting features “large gallery” and “together mode” – a unique and novel experience for one and all. The Judge and Associates joined us from their own homes, dressed in their legal robes – this is how they are conducting court hearings at the moment.
His Honour shared some of his experiences, including those of practising in the justice system during the current global pandemic, the differences, and the difficulties. He put our own sentencing skills to the test, with the students making fairly accurate estimates of a sentence handed down in a real case! His Honour also shared a valuable insight that young people are most likely to become involved in the legal system when they are driving a car – he reminded the students to get their hours up before getting their licence and to always drive safely.
The Judge and the Associates were also kind enough to answer our many questions and His Honour was pleased to hear that some of the students are interested in studying law or taking up a career in business. He offered his view that “very few people are born good writers, but you can develop it”. The students can heed that sage advice in all their subjects.
Jacinta Marlborough
Legal Studies Teacher
Virtual Excursion - Centre for Innovative Justice
Year 12 Legal Studies Virtual Excursion – Centre for Innovative Justice (Rob Hulls)
On 19 August, Unit 4 Legal Studies students had a “virtual excursion” to the Centre for Innovative Justice – a video call with former Attorney-General Rob Hulls and his mentee, Mi-lin Chen.
So many projects that Mr Hulls has had a hand in are listed on the Study Design and included in the various textbooks for VCE Legal Studies – including the Koori Courts, the Drug Court, the Neighbourhood Justice Centre in Collingwood and the Victorian Charter of Rights.
He was also instrumental in the creation of the Mental Health Court, and was happy that we at South Oakleigh College are very active when it comes to looking after our mental health, especially at the moment.
Mr Hulls shared some of his life experiences, including not being the best student at school and being beaten in an election by Bob Katter! He applauded our students for their resilience and bravery in these unprecedented times, assuring us that it is these qualities that future employers will be seeking out.
Mr Hulls inspired us with his 3 key pieces of advice:
1. Ignore the “doom- sayers” – he was told by teachers and his parents that his marks were not good enough to study law, but he ended up being the senior law officer to the Parliament! He told us, “If you’re passionate about something, it’s worth having the fight!”
2. Take yourself outside your comfort zone – he extended his supposedly temporary position working in an Aboriginal Legal Service, following his ethos of “Wanting to leave this place better than we found it.”
3. Out of difficult times comes resilience – “We will come through this – it’s a matter of what we learn from it!”
Jacinta Marlborough
Legal Studies Teacher
