VCE Legal Studies cheat sheet

The presumption of innocence: an accused is presumed innocent until the prosecution proves guilt beyond reasonable doubt; the burden of proof rests on the prosecution, and the accused generally bears no burden.

Beyond reasonable doubt is the criminal standard of proof; the balance of probabilities applies in civil disputes and, in limited statutory contexts, to some defence or exclusion matters.

Summary offences are heard in the Magistrates' Court (no jury, maximum generally two years' imprisonment per offence for a single charge), while indictable offences are heard in the County or Supreme Court with a jury on plea of not guilty.

Indictable offences triable summarily allow the Magistrates' Court to hear certain indictable offences with the accused's consent and the court's determination that it is appropriate.

Committal proceedings test whether the prosecution's evidence is sufficient for a trial; they filter weak cases and inform the accused of the case against them.

Bail: the Bail Act 1977 (Vic) creates a presumption of bail for most offences, reversed for specified offences (for example, certain terrorism and serious violence offences); the bail decision weighs the risk of the accused failing to appear, reoffending, endangering the safety of others, or interfering with witnesses.

The jury's role is to determine guilt on the evidence, reach a unanimous verdict in criminal trials, and be directed on law by the judge; the judge determines sentence and matters of law.

Purposes of sanctions under the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic): just punishment, deterrence (specific and general), rehabilitation, denunciation, community protection, and promotion of restorative justice.

Sentencing factors include aggravating and mitigating circumstances, maximum penalties, current sentencing practices, guilty pleas, victim impact statements, and the principle of parsimony (least restrictive sanction appropriate).

The Commonwealth Constitution divides power: exclusive powers (s 52, s 90 customs and excise), concurrent powers (s 51), and residual powers left to the states.

Section 109: where a Commonwealth law and a state law are inconsistent, the Commonwealth law prevails and the state law is invalid to the extent of the inconsistency.

Section 51(xxix) external affairs power supports laws implementing international treaty obligations; s 51(xxxi) requires just terms for acquisition of property; s 80 guarantees jury trial only for indictable offences against Commonwealth law.

A referendum under s 128 requires an absolute majority in each house, a majority of voters nationally, and a majority of voters in a majority of states (the double majority).

The High Court's original jurisdiction includes matters arising under the Constitution or involving its interpretation (s 75) and disputes between states (s 75), and it exercises appellate jurisdiction (s 73).

Judicial review of Commonwealth legislation: the High Court may declare a law ultra vires or invalid for exceeding constitutional power; the court does not review the merits of policy.

Express rights are stated in the text (for example, s 116 religious freedom, s 117 non-discrimination between states, s 80 jury trial); implied rights, such as political communication, derive from the text and structure of the Constitution.

The doctrine of precedent: ratio decidendi binds lower courts in the same hierarchy; obiter dicta is persuasive; a higher court in the same hierarchy may overrule a lower court's decision.

Statutory interpretation aids include the purposive approach, intrinsic materials (the Act itself) and extrinsic materials such as explanatory memoranda and parliamentary debates under the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic).