The Course is Coordinated by Associate Professor Joanna Howe
Email: joanna.howe@adelaide.edu.au
Phone: 8313 4344
Office 3.12, Ligertwood Building
Contact information for other staff in the course will be made available on MyUni.

The Legal Practitioners' Education and Admissions Council (LPEAC) sets rules for the academic requirements for admission to legal practice in South Australia. Students must demonstrate a satisfactory level of understanding and application of 11 core areas of legal knowledge.
This course covers material in the Priestley 11 subjects: “Evidence”, “Criminal Law and Procedure” and “Ethics and Professional Responsibility”. In particular, it covers the following Priestley 11 topics:

EVIDENCE
- introduction
- competence and compellability
- privilege
- the examination of witnesses
- disposition and character
- similar fact evidence
- the accused as a witness
- burden and standard of proof
- documentary evidence
- opinion evidence and prior determination
- hearsay, the exclusionary rule and the common law and statutory exceptions
- admissions and confessions in criminal cases
- illegally obtained evidence and confirmation by subsequent fact
- res gestae
- corroboration

CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
- elements of criminal procedure
- classification of offences
- process to compel appearance
- preliminary examination
- trial of indictable offences

ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
Professional and personal conduct in respect of a practitioner's duty:
(a) to the law
(b) to the Courts
(c) to clients, including a basic knowledge of the principles relating to the holding of money on trust
(d) to fellow practitioners

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Undertake legal research at an advanced level, and evaluate and apply a diverse range of legal information to complex evidential problems.
2. Apply evidence rules in a principled and critical manner as appropriate in South Australian and Federal courts.
3. Structure and sustain effective written and oral arguments for a legal audience. 
4. Exercise sound professional judgement in the application of trial and appellate litigation techniques and practice.
5. Compare and contrast the ethical roles of lawyers within South Australian and Federal courts.
6. Demonstrate advanced capacity to use feedback to inform personal and professional development. 

REQUIRED RESOURCES

1. Evidence Act 1929 (SA)
2. Evidence Act 1995 (Cth)

Andrew Hemming and Brianna Chesser (2020) Evidence: Commentary and Materials (LawBook Co., 9th Edition)

There are a large number of texts which consider Australian Evidence Law. If you are having difficulty with any of the concepts covered in this course, and would like to see how they are discussed in an alternative text, the following resources are useful.

On the laws of evidence:
1. Ligertwood and Gary, Australian Evidence, 6th ed, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2017
2. Heydon, Cross on Evidence, LexisNexis Butterworths, Looseleaf and Online.
3. Odgers, Uniform Evidence Law, 13th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2018.

On techniques of advocacy:
1. Gray, Hinton and Caruso, Essays in Advocacy, Barr Smith Press, 2012
2. Wells, Evidence and Advocacy, Butterworths, 1988
3. Glissan, Advocacy in Practice, 4th ed, Butterworths, 2005
4. Selby, Winning Advocacy, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, 2004
5. Mauet and McCrimmon, Fundamentals of Trial Technique, 3rd ed, 2011

The Course Syllabus is available online and lecture content is made available via Echo 360. Students may engage in peer to peer learning
through the online Discussion Board which is moderated by the Course Coordinator.

The course will be taught through lectures supported by interactive problem-solving workshops, seminars and practical exercises developing primary material, as well as independent study/preparation seminars.

Students are expected to attend lectures, seminars and workshops each week.

The University expects full-time students (ie those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies during semester. This means that in addition to lectures and seminars, students should spend time in private study  in the course across the semester – this includes reading the material, preparing for lectures and seminars and undertaking the assessment tasks, individually or in assigned practice groups.

Students will be required to closely engage with the modules in Evidence and Advocacy which, together, inform the lectures, workshops, seminars and advocacy exercises of the Course.

The Modules cover the following topics

1	Basic Concepts - Relvance & Probity
2	Party Presentation
3	Evidence in Chief (XN)
4	Cross-Examination (XXN)
5	Documentary & Real Evidence
6	Opinion & Expert Evidence
7	Original & Hearsay Use
8	Hearsay Exceptions
9	Criminal Procedure, Police Investigation
10	Criminal Procedure, Party Positions & Obligations
11	Criminal Procedure, Court Processes
12	Confessional Evidence and Discretionary Exclusion
13	Character 1 - Dispositional & Non-Dispositional Use
14	Character 2 - the Shield of the Accused
15	Warnings, Directions and Unreliable Evidence Safeguards

Assessment Task	Weighting	Due dates	Task Type	Redeemable	Learning Outcomes
Advocacy Exercise on examination and cross-examination of witnesses in a mock case and Written Justification	15%	Week 6 and Week 7	Individual	No	1,2,3,4
Research Assignment	15%	5pm, Wednesday, week 10	Individual	Yes	1, 5, 6
Examination	70%	Exam period	Individual	No	1-2, 5-6

1. Advocacy Exercises: Witness Examination and Cross-Examination and Written Justification

Each student must complete an advocacy exercise during week 6, 7 and 8 of the semester. Details will be confirmed by week 2 of the course.


2. Assignment

This assignment will be a research essay with a word limit of 2000 words. Students will select their own topic for the research assignment in consultation with the Course Coordinator.


3. Examination

To be held during the examination period. The exam will be 3 hours in duration (not including reading time).


The exam is worth 70% or 85% depending on whether the interim redeemable assignment has been undertaken.

Assignments must be handed in electronically by Turnitin. Students must ensure their student number appears on all written work submitted for assessment.

Electronic copies of the assignment as handed in must be retained by students.

Assignments will be returned electronically.

It is also advisable to keep written work after it has been assessed and returned.

Late submission penalty – assignments submitted after the due time and date without an extension granted by the Course Coordinator will be subject to a penalty of 5% of the total mark possible will be deducted for every 24 hours or part thereof that it is late, including each day on a weekend. For example, an essay that is submitted after the due date and time but within the first 24 hour period, and that has been graded at 63%, will have 5% deducted, for a final grade of 58%. An essay that is more than 24 hours late will lose 10%, etc. Hard copy submissions made after 5.00pm on a Friday will be assumed to have been submitted on the next business day and will be penalised accordingly. Extensions on medical or compassionate grounds will be in accordance with University Policy (see below).

Word length penalty - assignments which exceed the allocated length (word length or page limit) will be subject to a penalty of 5% of total marks available per page or per 100 words or part thereof (eg. an essay with a 3000 word limit which is graded 63% will have 5% deducted if it is 3020 words in length, for a final grade of 58% and will have 10% if it is 3120 words in length, for a final grade of 53% etc). Words are calculated including all footnotes and headings within the text but excluding cover page information. Quotations and all referencing information are included in the word count.

All written work in the Law School is required to comply with the approved Law School style guide, The Australian Guide to Legal Citation (see 3.1 above under References).

The quality of English expression is considered to be an integral part of the assessment process. Marks may be deducted from assessment because of poor expression, incorrect grammar, typographical errors etc. Unless instructed otherwise, please submit assignments on A4 size paper, double spaced and with a margin of at least 2.5 cm. Assessment work that is not submitted in this form may not be accepted, or may contain no assessment comments.

Assignments will be released to students within 3 weeks of the due date with written feedback.

Courses for which a result of conceded pass has been obtained may not be presented towards the degree requirements for the Bachelor of Laws or the Honours Degree of Bachelor of Laws programs, or any postgraduate law program, nor to satisfy prerequisite requirements within any law course.

Finality of Assessment Grades

Students are advised that Course Coordinators will not enter into negotiations of any kind with any student regarding changes to their grades. It is irrelevant, in any given circumstance, that only a minimal number of additional marks are required to inflate a student’s grade for any individual assessment item or course as a whole. Pursuant to the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policyand the Adelaide Law School Assessment Policies and Procedures, grades may only be varied through the appropriate channels for academic review (such as an official re-mark).

Moderation

In accordance with the University’s Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, course coordinators ‘ensure that appropriate marking guidelines and cross-marking moderation processes across markers are in place’ in each course. Procedures adopted by Adelaide Law School to ensure consistency of marking in courses with multiple markers include:

• assurance of the qualifications of markers, and their knowledge of the content covered in each course;
• detailed marking guidelines and assessment rubrics to assist in the marking of items of assessment;
• sharing of example marked assessments at various grade bands across markers;
• reviewing of selected marked assessments from each marker by the course coordinator;
• comparison of the marks and their distribution across markers;
• automatic double-marking of all interim assessment receiving a fail grade, and of final assessments where a student’s overall result is a fail grade;
• the availability of re-marking of assessments in accordance with Adelaide Law School’s Assessment Policies and Procedures.

Approval of Results by Board of Examiners

Students are reminded that all assessment results are subject to approval (and possible moderation/change) by the Law School’s Board of Examiners. Assessment results at the University are not scaled. Under the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy, students are assessed ‘by reference to their performance against pre-determined criteria and standards … and not by ranking against the performance of the student cohort in the course’. However, under that same policy, the Board of Examiners (as the relevant Assessment Review Committee for courses at Adelaide Law School) is required to ‘ensure comparability of standards and consistency’ in assessment. On occasions, the Board of Examiners will form the view that some moderation is required to ensure the comparability of standards and consistency across courses and years, and accordingly provide fairness to all law students. All assessment results are therefore subject to approval (and possible change) until confirmed by the Board of Examiners and posted on Access Adelaide at the end of each semester.

The University Writing Centre provides academic learning and language development services and resources for local, international, undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students enrolled at the University of Adelaide.

The centre offers practical advice and strategies for students to master reading, writing, note-taking, time management, oral presentation skills, referencing techniques and exam preparation for success at university through seminars, workshops and individual consultations.

Lex Salus Program

Lex Salus (law and wellbeing) is an initiative of the Adelaide Law School aimed at destigmatising mental health issues; promoting physical, mental and emotional wellness; building a strong community of staff and students; and celebrating diversity within the school. It also seeks to promote wellness within the legal profession, through the involvement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia, the Honourable Chris Kourakis, as the official Patron of the program.

Students can participate in the Lex Salus program by attending barbecue lunches, pancake breakfasts, knitting and crochet circles, seminars, guest speakers, conferences and other activities. Our Facebook page, website and regular all-student emails promote upcoming events, and have tips and information on wellness.

Our Lex Salus YouTube channel also includes videos on topics like managing stress, and interviews with LGBTQ lawyers and their supporters which celebrate diversity and individuality. Students who commit to 10 hours of volunteering with Lex Salus in one year can have their service recognised on their academic transcript and through a thank you morning tea with the Chief Justice and law school staff.

Student Life Counselling Support

The University’s Student Life Counselling Support service provides free and confidential service to all enrolled students. We encourage you to contact the Student Life Counselling Support service on 8313 5663 to make an appointment to deal with any issues that may be affecting your study and life.

Academic Integrity

All students must be familiar with the University’s Academic Integrity Policy. Academic Misconduct is a serious matter and is treated as such by the Law School and the University. Academic Misconduct (which goes beyond plagiarism) can be a ground for a refusal by the Supreme Court of South Australia to admit a person to practice as a legal practitioner in South Australia. Academic Integrity is an essential aspect of ethical and honest behaviour, which is central to the practice of the law and an understanding of what it is to be a lawyer.