the role of key personnel in a criminal trial (judge, jury, parties, legal practitioners)

What this dot point is asking

VCAA wants you to describe what each participant in a criminal trial does and to connect those roles to the principles of justice (fairness, equality and access). Expect a 5-8 mark medium response, sometimes asking you to compare two roles or to evaluate one.

The answer

The judge

The judge presides over the trial as an impartial umpire. The judge does not investigate and does not take sides. The main responsibilities are:

• Managing the trial. Ensuring the trial runs according to the rules of procedure and within a reasonable time.
• Deciding questions of law. Ruling on the admissibility of evidence (for example, excluding improperly or illegally obtained evidence under the Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) s 138) and ruling on points of law raised by the parties.
• Ensuring a fair trial. Protecting the rights of the accused, intervening where a self-represented accused is disadvantaged, and ordering a stay where a fair trial is impossible (Dietrich v The Queen (1992) 177 CLR 292).
• Directing the jury. Charging the jury on the relevant law, the elements of the offence, the burden and standard of proof, and any specific warnings.
• Sentencing. After a verdict of guilty, the judge alone imposes the sanction under the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic). The jury plays no part in sentencing.

The jury

In an indictable criminal trial in the County Court or the Supreme Court, a jury of 12 is empanelled under the Juries Act 2000 (Vic). The jury is the decider of fact.

• The jury listens to the evidence and assesses the credibility of witnesses.
• The jury applies the law as directed by the judge to the facts it finds.
• The jury deliberates in secret and delivers a verdict of guilty or not guilty.
• A verdict in an indictable criminal matter must be unanimous in Victoria (Juries Act 2000 (Vic) s 46), although a majority verdict is available for some offences after a minimum deliberation period.
• The jury gives no reasons and does not sentence.

Juries are not used in the Magistrates' Court, where a magistrate decides both fact and law.

The parties

A criminal trial is between the state and the accused.

• The prosecution. The Crown, represented in serious indictable matters by the Office of Public Prosecutions and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The prosecution bears the burden of proving the charge beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution must disclose its case to the defence and conduct itself fairly as a model litigant.
• The accused. The person charged. The accused is presumed innocent, has the right to silence, and is not required to prove anything. The accused may test the prosecution case, call evidence, and make submissions.

Legal practitioners

Barristers and solicitors represent the parties.

• They present the case, examine and cross-examine witnesses, make submissions on the law, and advise their client.
• Their role supports the adversarial system: each side puts its strongest case so the truth can emerge through testing of the evidence.
• Access to competent legal representation, supported where necessary by Victoria Legal Aid under the Legal Aid Act 1978 (Vic), is central to the principle of access.

Connection to the principles of justice

• Fairness. The impartial judge, the independent jury and the right to representation keep the process fair.
• Equality. Both parties are subject to the same rules of evidence and procedure; adjustments (such as interpreters) preserve substantive equality.
• Access. Legal representation and the use of plain directions to the jury support access.

Examples in context

Example 1. A County Court armed robbery trial. The DPP prosecutes; the accused is represented by counsel funded by a Victoria Legal Aid grant. The judge rules a confession inadmissible under Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) s 138 because it was improperly obtained. The jury of 12, directed that the prosecution must prove each element beyond reasonable doubt, deliberates and returns a unanimous not-guilty verdict. The judge plays no part in the verdict; had the verdict been guilty, the judge alone would have sentenced under the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic).

Example 2. A summary assault hearing in the Magistrates' Court. There is no jury. A single magistrate decides both the law (admissibility, procedure) and the facts (whether the assault is proved), and, if the charge is proved, imposes the sanction. This shows that the jury's fact-finding role is confined to indictable trials.

Try this

Q1. Distinguish between the role of the judge and the role of the jury in a criminal trial. [4 marks]

• Cue. Judge: decides questions of law, ensures fairness, directs jury, sentences. Jury: decides questions of fact, delivers verdict, does not sentence or give reasons.

Q2. Explain how the role of legal practitioners supports the principle of access. [3 marks]

• Cue. Practitioners present and test the case for a client who often cannot navigate procedure alone; legal aid funding (Legal Aid Act 1978 (Vic)) reduces the financial barrier to representation.

Q3. Evaluate the extent to which the role of the jury upholds the principles of justice. [6 marks]

• Cue. Strengths: community participation, collective fact-finding, independence. Limitations: no reasons given, possible bias or misunderstanding of directions, delays in empanelment; link each to fairness, equality and access.