Law, order and federalism in Australia. In a series of recent cases the High Court has emphasised the constitutional imperatives of judicial independence and impartiality in State court systems. These developments provide minimum human rights protections to individuals confronting criminal justice in the States. But what has not been considered is the cost of these developments. This project will investigate the uncertainty of the constitutional restrictions confronting State governments when re ....Law, order and federalism in Australia. In a series of recent cases the High Court has emphasised the constitutional imperatives of judicial independence and impartiality in State court systems. These developments provide minimum human rights protections to individuals confronting criminal justice in the States. But what has not been considered is the cost of these developments. This project will investigate the uncertainty of the constitutional restrictions confronting State governments when responding to law and order priorities, and the extent to which these have led to the frustration of policy development and experimentation across the Australian federation.Read moreRead less
Using jurors to gauge informed public opinion on sentencing. Policy makers and judicial officers are under increasing pressure to respond to public opinion on sentencing issues and yet gauging public opinion on these issues is problematic. This project will use a new means of ascertaining informed public opinion on sentencing issues to better inform policy makers and judicial officers.
Human identification, ancient DNA and genomics. This project aims to develop and apply a novel targeted sequence capture and high throughput DNA sequencing approach to simultaneously type thousands of informative identity, ancestry and phenotype markers in a single assay to facilitate identification of unknown suspects and missing persons. DNA based human identification is both critical and central to criminal and coronial investigations, disaster-victim and missing persons identification, repat ....Human identification, ancient DNA and genomics. This project aims to develop and apply a novel targeted sequence capture and high throughput DNA sequencing approach to simultaneously type thousands of informative identity, ancestry and phenotype markers in a single assay to facilitate identification of unknown suspects and missing persons. DNA based human identification is both critical and central to criminal and coronial investigations, disaster-victim and missing persons identification, repatriation of war dead and counter-terrorism operations. Persistent technological and conceptual issues associated with the application of standard procedures to trace degraded DNA, or when profiles have no match in DNA databases, limit their application to real-world human identification problems.Read moreRead less
Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and w ....Investigating memory reliability in intoxicated witnesses of crime. Eyewitness testimony is a crucial piece of evidence for solving a crime. Inaccurate testimony leads to miscarriages of justice such as failed prosecutions or false convictions. Many witnesses and victims are affected by alcohol or other drugs during the crime. This project brings together a multidisciplinary team aiming to improve understanding of how intoxication with different substances affects the reliability of victim and witness memory accuracy. Crucially, crimes are frequently distressing; therefore the interaction between intoxication and stress urgently requires exploration. This project will significantly advance our understanding of key mechanisms behind drug effects on memory, and support fairer judicial outcomes for all. Read moreRead less
Competitive or complementary institutions? Security intelligence and criminal justice in counter-terrorism prosecutions in Australia. How do Australia's prosecutors and judges interact with security and intelligence agents in the new field of counter-terrorism and which values and objectives do they pursue? In this study, Australia's 37 counter-terrorism prosecutions are examined to answer the question: 'is Australia becoming a "security" or "surveillance" society?'
Analysing interactions within the criminal deportation system. This project aims to investigate the convergence of migration control and criminal justice by analysing pathways to criminal deportation. The project expects to generate new criminological understandings of deportation as a means of promoting community safety using interdisciplinary approaches that capture regional and metropolitan practice. Expected outcomes include knowledge of how information flows between migration control and cr ....Analysing interactions within the criminal deportation system. This project aims to investigate the convergence of migration control and criminal justice by analysing pathways to criminal deportation. The project expects to generate new criminological understandings of deportation as a means of promoting community safety using interdisciplinary approaches that capture regional and metropolitan practice. Expected outcomes include knowledge of how information flows between migration control and criminal justice agencies, and the implications for policing, courts, and prison administration. This should provide significant benefits for policy-makers and practitioners, by articulating emerging and unexplored practices that have major consequences for community safety, social cohesion and the rule-of-law.Read moreRead less
Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts. Children's Courts occupy a unique position in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in responding to often marginalized delinquent youth and vulnerable children and families. Philosophical and structural shifts in Australia and overseas suggest community and legal system responses are often ineffective and contribute to longer-term problems, creating social challenges for governments ....Challenges, Possibilities and Future Directions: A National Assessment of Australia's Children's Courts. Children's Courts occupy a unique position in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems in responding to often marginalized delinquent youth and vulnerable children and families. Philosophical and structural shifts in Australia and overseas suggest community and legal system responses are often ineffective and contribute to longer-term problems, creating social challenges for governments and communities alike. This national study will examine how key stakeholders, including, significantly, judicial officers, view the Children's Court's contemporary responses and challenges, their preferred alternatives responses and the viability of suggested reforms, thus offering a unique contribution to informing legal and social policy change.Read moreRead less
Safeguarding human rights in China: A study of the role of legal aid policy. While China is a well-known Australia n trading partner its efforts to safeguard human rights are not well known. China's legal aid, the focus of this study, promotes human rights in China by assisting women, children, the elderly and disabled with legal advice and education, and representation in court cases. This project describes the innovative Chinese policy, assesses its role in promoting human rights, and propose ....Safeguarding human rights in China: A study of the role of legal aid policy. While China is a well-known Australia n trading partner its efforts to safeguard human rights are not well known. China's legal aid, the focus of this study, promotes human rights in China by assisting women, children, the elderly and disabled with legal advice and education, and representation in court cases. This project describes the innovative Chinese policy, assesses its role in promoting human rights, and proposes practical reforms to further improve legal aid. By improving human rights and the legal system it will also promote the stable conditions in China needed for Sino/Australian trade.Read moreRead less
Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically ....Who is Law For? An Analysis of the Nature of the Legal Being. The project will provide the first contemporary comprehensive scholarly treatise on "the legal person" as this legal concept applies to natural beings and objects: from rational humans, to human foetuses to animals to trees. It will have a direct bearing on legal decision-making in some of the most sensitive and controversial areas of law and therefore will have a highly practical legal application. For example, the project critically evaluates the legal status of the embryo and so will be of immediate interest to national and international law reformers considering the legality of the new reproductive technologies, cloning and embryonic stem cell research.Read moreRead less
Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing st ....Judges' work, place and psychological health - a national view. This project aims to address the human, juridical and financial costs of judicial officers’ work-related psychological harm. This harm is implicated in early retirement, sick leave and suicide. It threatens appropriate courtroom conduct, procedural fairness and impartial adjudication. The project seeks to generate new knowledge of the stress judicial officers experience and the individual and institutional mechanisms for managing stressors, combining socio-legal and psychological approaches. Expected outcomes include evidence-based understandings to inform recruitment and retention strategies specific to this highly specialized workforce. This should provide significant benefits for judges’ work capacities and courts' delivery of justice.Read moreRead less