Postgraduate - UnitLAW7281 - The expert witness in the adversary system

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

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Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Law
Offered	City (Melbourne) First semester (extended) 2013 (Off-campus)

Notes

For postgraduate Law discontinuation dates, please see http://www.law.monash.edu.au/current-students/postgraduate/pg-disc-dates.html

Synopsis

Overview of the adversary and inquisitorial systems
Role of the expert witness within the adversary system
Important and unique position of the expert witness
The legal and ethical context of expert evidence.

Unit topics:

The Nature of the Adversary System
The Trial Process
Basic Rules of Evidence
Legal and other Professional Ethics
Rules of Expert Evidence
Evaluation of Expert Evidence
Introduction to Preparation for Trial
Law reform and future directions

Outcomes

At the successful completion of this unit the student should be able to:

compare and contrast the adversary and inquisitorial systems
explain the court structure, trial process and role of the legal profession
identify the ethical rules imposed on lawyers and expert qitnesses by the courts and their profession
explain the rules of evidence relating to the giving of expert evidence
identify areas of current law reform and likely future directions.

Assessment

The unit will be assessed as Pass or Fail only and no grades will be allocated.

There will be ongoing assessment including reflective activities, case studies, assignments and a final assessment task. Participation in the online discussion group will also be required but will not be assessed.

Chief examiner(s)

Professor George Hampel

Prerequisites

Must be enrolled in Graduate Certificate of Forensic Studies.

Co-requisites

LAW7282.