Courts

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  //At a glance // · //There are three main courts in the CeeBeeDee // · //The courts are the Magistrates, County and Supreme court // · //Each court focuses on different cases // //Court definition, "A judicial tribunal duly constituted for the hearing and determination of cases". // //A court determines the innocence or guilt of a person and provides a sentence. The main members of a court are; the judge (justice or //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> magistrate), defendant and the prosecutor. There are other members in the court which aren’t always used such as the jury. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">The judge’s main role in the court room is to keep order. The court system in Australia is the Adversary system which means the judges role is mainly to keep order. But in countries which use the Inquisitorial system, judges have more power in the court room such as being able to question people. The defendant is the lawyer to the accused, the prosecutor is the lawyer to the victim. A lawyer represents their client who is either the accused or the victim. // <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">The jury is used for most cases excluding civil. It’s made up of twelve members of the community which have no ties to the accused. The jury comes up with the verdict to whether the accused is innocent or guilty by being shown evidence, they must all agree to the verdict or else the judge can pick the one with the highest majority or get a new jury. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> There are three different courts in the CeeBeeDee. They each work in different ways but they all have effects on the society we live in. The courts are; the Supreme court, Magistrates court and the County court. They all focus on a range of cases. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';"> County Court The county court was made to provide cheap readily available forums for small civil claims. It opened on the 31st of May 2002 on 250 Williams street. It is the states busiest court with forty six court rooms.

County courts were created in 1852. They were modeled upon English County court made in 1846. The largest claim possible when the County court began was fifty pounds which was then changed to eight thousand dollars in 1951 and in 1991 it was changed to two hundred thousand dollars. Victoria had several county courts to begin with and each had from one up to several judges. It wasn’t till over a century later that there was only one County court in Victoria. The County court was considered inferior as it was only a civil court till 1968 when it began taking cases of all kinds, excluding treason murder and related cases.

// //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Supreme Court //<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">The Supreme Court consists of a Chief justice, other judges and a Master. The court has jurisdiction on cases civil and criminal. There is a Supreme Court (also known as the court of last resort or the high court) in every State of Australia. When Victoria was separated from New South Wales they were granted the Supreme Court which took over from the court // //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">of Resident Justice. The justices appointed to the Victorian Supreme court included the last Resident Justice, William a’Beckett and sir Redmond Barry. Later a third justice was appointed because of the growth in cases and population due to the gold rush. There were eventually six justices although in 1917 there were only four justices due to a decline in legislation, the two justices were eventually restored. The number of justices steadily increased again which were a seventh and eighth by 1947. This was because once again the business in the courts had grown. There were suddenly a lack of courtrooms and justices so during the 1950s another five justices were added. This number had skyrocketed by the twenty first century as there are now 32 justices. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

//<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Magistrates court. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

//<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">The Magistrates court deals with a whole range of cases including police cases, road cases, money claims, fines and family cases. //<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">

//<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">The Magistrates court was opened in 1836. Mr. J Simpson was appointed as the arbitrator. A Captain Lonsdale was then appointed police magistrate and the Magistrates court had its first case in October of 1836. When the court was opened the maximum payment was twenty pounds which is now over one hundred thousand dollars. // //<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">In 1995 it was moved to its current location which is on the corner of Russell and La Trobe street. //

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