The role of key personnel in a criminal trial: VCE Legal Studies

Syllabus dot point

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

6 min readUpdated 24 May 2026

Quick answer

In a Victorian criminal trial the judge is the impartial umpire who decides questions of law, ensures fairness, directs the jury and sentences after conviction; the jury of 12 decides the facts and delivers the verdict but does not sentence; the parties are the prosecution (which bears the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt) and the accused (presumed innocent); and legal practitioners present and test each side's case. Each role supports fairness, equality and access.

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What this dot point is asking
The answer
Examples in context
Try this
Exam-style questions

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.

Common traps

Saying the jury sentences the offender: It does not. The jury decides guilt; the judge alone sentences.
Saying the accused must prove innocence: The accused is presumed innocent and bears no burden. The prosecution must prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
Saying juries are used in the Magistrates' Court: They are not. Juries sit only in indictable trials in the County and Supreme Courts.
Calling the judge an investigator: Australia uses an adversarial, not inquisitorial, system. The judge is an impartial umpire, not an investigator.

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.

Exam-style questions

Questions in the style of VCAA exam questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer. They are written by ExamExplained unless tagged "Past paper"; the year shows the paper a question is modelled on.

Practice6 marks

Describe the role of the judge and the role of the jury in a criminal trial.

Show worked answer →

A 6-mark response needs a clear separation of the two roles and concrete detail on each.

Judge. Acts as an impartial umpire. Manages the trial, rules on the admissibility of evidence and on questions of law, ensures the trial is conducted fairly and according to procedure, directs and charges the jury on the relevant law, and sentences the offender after a finding of guilt (the jury does not sentence).

Jury. A jury of 12 in an indictable criminal trial in the County or Supreme Court. The jury is the decider of fact: it listens to the evidence, applies the law as directed by the judge, deliberates in secret, and delivers a verdict of guilty or not guilty. The jury does not give reasons and does not sentence.

Markers reward the distinction between questions of law (judge) and questions of fact (jury), the impartial umpire role, and the point that the jury does not sentence.