LAWGENRL 723 Special Topic: Selected Topics in Law of Evidence and Criminal Procedure - Course Outlines

Course Prescription

No prescription

Course Overview

Prosecutors, defence lawyers, judges, police and other persons working in the area of criminal justice — or studying in that field — will be aware of the significant body of New Zealand evidence and criminal procedure law governing: (a) criminal investigations; and (b) criminal trial processes. This course will examine selected topics in evidence and criminal procedure, focussing on the Evidence Act 2006, the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990, the Search and Surveillance Act 2012, and the Criminal Procedure Act 2011.

Course Requirements

No pre-requisites or restrictions

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

Understand and critically evaluate the legal rules of and policy bases behind the evidence and criminal procedure topics covered in class. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1 and 4.1)
Understand and analyse the concepts of due process and crime control as a framework within which to evaluate rules of evidence and criminal procedure. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1 and 5.2)
Think critically about the interpretation and application of the rules of evidence and criminal procedure studied in class. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 5.2 and 6.3)
Generate proposals for reforming the rules of evidence and criminal procedure studied in class. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.3)

Assessments

Assessment Type	Percentage	Classification
Class Participation	10%	Individual Coursework
Research Essay Outline	10%	Individual Coursework
Research Essay	80%	Individual Coursework
3 types	100%

Assessment Type	Learning Outcome Addressed
	1	2	3	4
Class Participation
Research Essay Outline
Research Essay

Each student is expected to make individual contributions to seminar discussions throughout the course. Apart from exceptional circumstances, ALL students are expected to attend ALL 6 classes during the 6-week term.

Students will be individually assessed on the quality of their in-class contributions and with reference to the following criteria:

• demonstrated comprehension of the assigned reading for each class;

• the extent to which the student has identified important and relevant issues for discussion;

• the depth and thoroughness of understanding of the seminar material;

• the strength and clarity of the arguments presented;

• the overall lucidity of the contributions;

• the extent to which issues are placed in their wider context;

• the extent to which the student has displayed a grasp of relevant doctrinal and normative matters;

• the analysis and synthesis of material; and

• the ability to draw cogent conclusions about the relevant legal issues involved.

Class participation will be assessed over the whole 6 weeks of the course. Quality rather than quantity will be evaluated. However, if a student is not present for all the classes — as is expected — it will be impossible to achieve the maximum marks possible (even if a student’s contributions are valuable when he or she does speak). Students are reminded that the full range of marks is available to the lecturer in assessing class participation. Please also be assured that the lecturer is very aware that mistakes are part of learning. Accordingly, ‘getting the law right’ is not the key focus of the class participation component of the assessment. Indeed, if students knew all the law from the outset, there would be little point in them enrolling in the course! Rather, class participation is evaluated to assess students’ understanding of, and engagement with, the materials under discussion in the course.

Research Outline

Each student must submit a 1000 word (maximum) research outline via the course Canvas website by 12 noon at the end of week 3 of the class. The research outline should commence with an abstract that outlines the proposed research question and main thesis of the student’s research essay. The research outline then should provide an outline of the structure of the proposed research essay. This structure should follow Appendix 7 of the New Zealand Style Guide (3rd edition). That is, it should contain major headings, minor Headings, sub-headings and paragraph headings. The lecturer will provide a mark and feedback on the research outline to each individual student by the end of week 4 of the class.

Essay

Each student is required to submit a research essay of no more than 6,500 words (inclusive of footnotes and including an abstract/ synopsis of approximately 200-300 words).

The essay is to be original work, relying on secondary and primary sources, on an evidence or criminal procedure topic of the student’s choosing and in consultation with the lecturer.

Students must also use proper legal citations. The essay should be comprised of properly crafted sentences as note form is unacceptable. The use of sub-headings and a table of contents is encouraged — and footnotes rather than in-text referencing should be used. All essays are to comply with the 3rd ed of the New Zealand Law Style Guide.

Descriptive essays are not encouraged. Instead, students are expected to engage with relevant legal issues (of their own choosing) by: (a) explaining and critiquing the law and its underlying policies; (b) providing a conceptual analysis of the law; and (c) examining the operation of the law in practice; and (d) developing proposals for reform.

Essays must be submitted to the Faculty of Law by 12 noon on the final day of Semester 1 2022. Instructions for submissions will be provided to students during the course.

Extensions will not be granted on the grounds of work commitments (but can be granted on sickness and compassionate grounds) and must be requested formally through the Postgraduate Manager.

Workload Expectations

This is a standard 15-point LLM Intensive course. There will be around 18 hours of lectures in this course. As a general guide, you should expect a workload of three hours outside of the classroom for each hour spent in class. The guideline for the total workload for this course is 75 hours.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at all classes.
The course will not include live online events.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable delivery (3 hours per class x 6 classes).

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course director, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a Student Academic and Support Adviser as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

Capability 1:	Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2:	Critical Thinking
Capability 3:	Solution Seeking
Capability 4:	Communication and Engagement
Capability 5:	Independence and Integrity
Capability 6:	Social and Environmental Responsibilities

LAWGENRL 723 : Special Topic: Selected Topics in Law of Evidence and Criminal Procedure

Law

2022 Semester Two (1225) (15 POINTS)