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Essay about Magistrates Court Research Assignment

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Unit 1: Criminal law, Outcome 3: Magistrates court research assignment
1. Define key legal terminology such as court hierarchy, jurisdiction & court personnel
Court hierarchy
A court hierarchy is a structure or or order of rank of courts within a state or country. The court hierarchy allows each court to deal with specific types of cases according to the seriousness of the crime and the courts jurisdiction. Hence, courts dealing with more serious offences would be higher in the court hierarchy than the courts dealing with less serious offences. In Victoria- the Supreme court is the is the apex of the state court system, with the County court and Magistrates court below.
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the authority vested in a court to …show more content…

Precedent: When resolving disputes, Judges may make rulings directly related to the doctrine of precedent. This means judges follow previous decisions in future cases with similar circumstances. This practice is binding, whereby decisions made by higher Courts must be followed by all lower Courts in the same Court hierarchy. This ensures that the standard of precedent is maintained.
Administrative convenience: Cases are allocated to different courts directly relating to their seriousness. Each court has its own type of jurisdiction, allowing people to identify the appropriate court to take their dispute to. The majority of minor cases can be heard quickly in the Magistrates Court, leaving the County and Supreme Courts with only the more serious cases that may require their expertise. The aim of this process is to reduce the costs to the taxpayer for the running of the Courts, and to increase the level of efficiency in the Courts, allowing cases to be resolved quickly.
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3. Name and address of the court.
The Magistrates' Court of

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