Particular Interest

Our legal system is an adversarial system in which each party has a right to a fair and just trial. A fair and just trial, however, can only be achieved if the defendant has legal representation as according to comments made by the Justices Mason CJ and McHugh J in Dietrich v. The Queen (1992) 177 CLR 285 “…by reason of the lack of representation of the accused, the resulting trial is not a fair one…for the reason that there has been a miscarriage of justice in that the accused has been convicted without a fair trial.” This is due to a lack of knowledge of law and a lack of understanding of the criminal trial process of the accused as indicated by the comments made by Dietrich over the course of the trial “I’m not emotionally or mentally fit to conduct my own trial”. However, even though the justices have mentioned the importance of legal representation in upholding the rule of law – through making the trial just and fair - they did not agree that the accused was entitled to legal rep...

The police enforce the laws that have been put in place by legislative bodies and by the courts, all of which are essential for keeping law and order within our society. However, there are several issues with the roles of police, with arguments for and against in regards to achieving justice for society, the victims of the crime and perpetrators. The powers of police are derived from the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 NSW (LEPRA) and they define the roles, regulations as well as the provisions of powers that are provided for policing agencies. As such, the police play an important role in investigations and arrests in the criminal justice process. The police investigate crimes on behalf of the state and ensure that any breaches in the law are uncovered. This requires trust from the public as well as the victims of the crime and even the offenders. Trust is not always given to police due to issues such as historical distrust from certain communities as well ...

Britain in the late 1800s was expanding its knowledge of the world through exploration and discovery. Many people such as Generals and high-ranking officials had the privilege of visiting exotic locations and new lands. Not much was known of these mysterious lands apart from the stories that were brought back as well as the artefacts and tokens that were claimed. Xenophobia was present and thus anyone from the "outside" was feared. Monkeys Paw delves into this fear of the unknown that is present within the audience. This gothic element is represented through the General entering the house. He is a well-travelled man who brings along his stories of travel and an artefact that he has found. The house is set seemingly distant from people where the windows and blinds were described to be closed "The blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly". This symbolism of a safe haven has connotations of protectiveness and ignorance. The house is almost described as if its c...