Courtroom Report on Civil Law in Australia

This report provides an overview of a courtroom observation in Australia focusing on civil law. It covers the case details, technical content, and observations made in the court. The report concludes with insights and reflections on the experience.

Running Head; CIVIL LAW 0
[School]
[Course title]
COURTROOM REPORT
AUSTRALIA

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Table of Contents
Introduction..................................................................................................................................2
Case Content................................................................................................................................2
Technical Content.......................................................................................................................3
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography...................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Proper analyzing the things during the courtroom visit is very essential for a law student.
My report on the courtroom observation will throw light on all the experiences and the
observations made in the local court of Australia. So with the growth of the report, I would be
covering up with all the contents relating to the case, its technicality and all the other related
observation in the courtroom and then finally the outcomes or the concluding statement.
Observing or sitting in the court not only helps in enhancing one's experience but it also helps
those newcomers who are interested in a legal career but are a little confused that which is the
path they must choose to. Spending time in the court can hold a helping hand for them.
Case Content
On 23rd August 2019, I had visited Bankstown Local Court where Mr. Edward was the
main accused who was to be heard by the magistrate i.e. the presiding officer of the court. Mr.
Edward was an alcoholic, who used to always abuse his wife as well as used to throw coffee
mugs and beer bottles over her, he used to push his wife due to which she gets injured many a
time. He was continuously spitting on the face of his wife and also bruising her legs etc. these
were the some of the offenses which have been committed in this case.
All these committed offenses can be covered up under the Crimes (Domestic and
Personal Violence) Act 2007 under parts 2 and 3, section 9-14. The nature of the case was the
summary trial. And yes the accused had pleaded for the guilt he had committed so was
represented legally in the court before the magistrate (Saunders, 1996).
In short, the facts of the case were that Mr. Edward after drinking alcohol was always set
to abuse and insult his wife and son, throw bottles of beer and mugs of coffee over his wife out
of them one had badly injured the head and other the leg of his wife. He was to abuse and

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threaten her by saying that he would kill her that too in front of the child. The outcome of this
case was that the bail request made by the side of Edwards was refused until the next hearing
date.
Technical Content
In the courtroom, my main focus was on the magistrate and the lawyers of both the
parties and also the registrars. There I observed that they were talking and discussing the facts of
the cases among themselves and were trying to collect down those shreds of evidence which may
help conclude the case. A magistrate is a person who hears and makes a decision and the
happenings to a case whether it must be passed to another court or must be put off till the next
hearing. He acts as a referee in the court and passes its decision regarding accused being guilty of
an offense or not and with this also imposes penalties for the guilt. All the lawyers and others
who were trying to interact with him were addressing him as ‘Your Honor.’ The case of the
defendant is presented by a solicitor who is been briefed by the legal advocates (Bell, 2019).
Prosecutor is a person who fights a case against the defendant in the courtroom. The registrar is
known as the manager or the administrator of the court, who assists the parties at the counter of
the court.
The legal personnel i.e. the Magistrate and the Lawyers were behaving in a very
professional manner respect for the legal system and the courts were displayed by their attitudes.
Even they were dressed very simply in a white shirt along with a stiff wing collar and bands
hanging in front of the neck with black formal trousers (Coumarelos et al., 2018). Magistrate had
worn a hood and mantle. They were very simple and sophisticated in their appearances. But the
language used in the court was very professional and it was so very difficult that half of the
things went above my head or were very difficult to understand.

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Observation
Before attending the courtroom I had formed some contacts outside it for knowing the
time and other related information regarding the case I wanted to attend. Getting entry in the
court was an outstanding and a very different experience, but I was successfully able to make
myself there with the guidance of the people present there. The courtroom was very simple and
had no layers except that of the judges and lawyers in front and the general public in the back. I
entered the courtroom and sat at the back where the general public was sitting, we were faced
towards the Magistrate.
It was a very different and a new experience, which was relatively very different from the
one I had studied in the books and watched in movies. My expectation was very high but due to
the lack of enough knowledge, I had faced few problems in understanding the language of the
professional talking and discussing their case there.
Yes, it can be very truly said that my experience of the courtroom and its way of
operating things were found to match y understanding of the system of the court and the criminal
law. The theories of criminal law determine its feature, function, justifications, limits,
responsibility and the procedure of collecting the pieces of evidence. Court observations provide
a very unique way of teaching those skills which were very unfamiliar in the legal settings. It is
easy to forget those things which are learned from the countless books as they also become very
lengthy and difficult at times. But things learned from hearing directly from, the mouths of the
magistrates may make it fixed in our brains for a longer time.
Conclusion
Hence to conclude with the report made above it can be very well said that observing
things keenly are very essential to understand its deep sense because there are certain things

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which vary in large with those one studies in a book or watches in a movie. Practical knowledge
of things can make them easier and faster to understand and keep in our conscious mind forever.
This observation has encouraged me to face more difficult challenges over to come in my life.
In this report, the case of Mr. Edwards was discussed who had an alcohol addiction and
in that while he used to hit his wife, abuse her, throw bottles on her, etc. His bail request was
refused when he had pleaded guilty till the next hearing date given to him. I saw that the legal
personnel there were very professional and they had a very humble and respecting approach
towards each other. In the end, I would like to say that my expectations were not let down.

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Bibliography
Bell, F., 2019. Family law: Is this the future of family law?: Overview of the ALRC report. LSJ:
Law Society of NSW Journal, (56), p.68. Available at:
https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=436837082993827;res=IELHSS.
Coumarelos, C., Forell, S., Wilson, A. & Karras, M., 2018. Legal Aid NSW Domestic Violence
Unit: process evaluation of the first nine. Social work, 1, p.14. Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Suzie_Forell/publication/323616922_Legal_Aid_NSW_Do
mestic_Violence_Unit_Process_evaluation_of_the_first_nine_months/links/
5aa068be45851543e6377f17/Legal-Aid-NSW-Domestic-Violence-Unit-Process-evaluation-of-
the-first-ni.
Saunders, C., 1996. Courts of Final Jurisdiction: The Mason Court in Australia. Federation
Press. Available at: https://books.google.co.in/books?
id=wBAzxYEmpJkC&dq=domestic+law+australia&source=gbs_navlinks_s.