Outline

Overview

This unit of study aims to teach students the laws of evidence. The focus of this unit is on the operation of the laws of evidence in civil and criminal trials. The unit considers the laws of evidence contained in statute and the common law. Students will appreciate the significant law reform in this area. The unit considers the rules for adducing evidence, then the rules of admissibility (relevance, hearsay, opinion, tendency and coincidence, credibility, character, privilege and the discretions to exclude evidence). Finally, there will be consideration of issues relating to proof. This unit will focus on the uniform Evidence Acts 1995 and develop students' skills in the area of statutory interpretation. Further, the unit aims to introduce students to the contexts within which lawyers might encounter evidential issues in the course of a trial. Consideration is also given to the ethical problems that may arise in the conduct of a trial. Students are encouraged to think critically about the doctrines that govern the laws of evidence.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Law
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	LAWS5003
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	LAWS2016
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Salim Farrar, salim.farrar@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Final exam (Take-home short release)	Final Exam Take-Home Exam is open book	60%	Please select a valid week from the list below Due date: 18 Jul 2022 at 12:00	3 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Short-release assignment Two short essays	40%	Week -03 Due date: 11 Jul 2022 at 09:30 Closing date: 15 Jul 2022	2000 words / 3 days
Outcomes assessed:
= Type D final exam ?

Assessment summary

Short-release assignment (40%) : This assignment is comprised of two short essay questions (from a choice of six). The questions will be released at 9.30am on Friday 8 July 2022 and answers are due at 9.30am on Monday 11 July 2022.  The assignment may cover any material addressed in the lectures and tutorial discussions. It may also require some research.  The assignment will address policy questions and students’ contextual understanding and application of the case law and legislation.  Note the general assessment guidelines. The mark assigned will reflect the usual considerations – materiality, accuracy, clarity, originality, provision of authority. But students should also be very concise. You should provide references for your statements of law or where you are using someone else’s work. You must strictly comply with AGLC4. The assignment has a total word limit of 2000 words maximum, including citations but not a bibliography. A bibliography is not required. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application after the closing date, is a replacement assignment.

Final exam (60%) : The final short-release take-home exam will be released as 12.00pm on 18 July 2022, and is due at 15:44:59pm on 18 July 2022. Students will have 3 hours to complete the exam plus 30 minutes reading time. The exam will be made up of 2 problem questions. Note the general assessment guidelines. The mark assigned will reflect the usual considerations – materiality, accuracy, clarity, originality, provision of authority. You should provide references for your statements of law or where you are using someone else’s work. However, you need not strictly comply with AGLC4. It is an exam, not an assignment. Just provide sufficient information for us to identify the source (a) If you refer to cases from the readings, the case name alone will suffice. Otherwise, eg, case name and date or court (b) For secondary sources, eg, surname or name of commission, and title of book, article or report. The exam has a word limit of 4000 words maximum including citations. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application is a replacement examination. The outcome of a successful Special Consideration application for a replacement examination is a viva voce.  

Students must retain pre-submitted drafts of their assessment on file.

A student must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks set out in this Unit of Study in order to obtain a Pass mark and grade (or above); otherwise, an Absent Fail grade will be recorded as the student’s result for this Unit of Study.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Completely answers the question. Contains striking originality of approach or analysis. Demonstrates exhaustive or innovative research (where independent research required). Exceptionally well written, structured and expressed. Is otherwise exceptional in some way.
Distinction	75 - 84	Completely answers the question. Achieves a critical and evaluative approach to the issues. Content and structure is well organised in support of the argument. Demonstrates extensive research and analysis to support a well-documented argument. Generally well expressed and free from errors. Has a clear structure and is well articulated.
Credit	65 - 74	Covers main issues fairly well in answering the question. Contains no significant errors. Demonstrates an attempted critical approach to the issues. Demonstrates reasonably sound research and analysis in addressing the key issues. Has a clear structure and reasonably clear expression.
Pass	50 - 64	Identifies the key issues, but does not follow through with a reasoned argument. Contains some significant errors. Displays satisfactory engagement with the key issues. Offers a descriptive summary of material relevant to the question. Superficial use of material, and may display a tendency to paraphrase. Demonstrates little evidence of in-depth research or analysis. Adequate expression. Overall, demonstrates the minimum level of competence in the assessment and satisfies the requirements to proceed to higher-level studies in the degree or subject area.
Fail	0 - 49	Does not answer the question. Contains significant or numerous errors. Few or no identifiable arguments. Content that is inappropriate or irrelevant. Lack of research or analysis. Difficult or impossible to understand through poor grammar, expression or structure. Overall, does not demonstrate the minimum level of competence in the assessment.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

The late submission of a piece of assessment, which has not been granted an extension, will attract a penalty of 5% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment per calendar day or part thereof. For example, a submission after 9.30am but by 11.59pm on the due date for submission will attract a 5% penalty. A submission on the following day after 12 midnight will attract a 15% penalty, and so on. Late penalties will be strictly applied.The date and time of submission as recorded by Canvas is taken as the official and final record of a student’s submission. Late penalties do not apply to exams or tests and any late submission will not be accepted.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Pre-semester	1. Introduction; 2. Relevance; 3. Proof (part (i) Burdens and Standards)	Seminar (4 hr)
	1. Adversarial Trial; 2. Witnesses; 3. Documents; 4. Real Evidence.	Seminar (4 hr)
	Credibility	Seminar (4 hr)
	Hearsay	Seminar (4 hr)
	Opinion Evidence	Seminar (4 hr)
	Admission and Self-Incrimination	Seminar (4 hr)
	1. Tendency and Coincidence Evidence; 2. Character of the Accused	Seminar (4 hr)
	1. Identification Evidence; 2. Discretions (1): ss 135-137	Seminar (4 hr)
	Discretions (2): Improperly Obtained Evidence (s 138)	Seminar (4 hr)
	1. Proof (ii) - Directions; 2. Revision	Seminar (4 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: All students are required to attend 70% of live classes (or as otherwise specified by the Unit Coordinator) to satisfy the pass requirements for each unit of study. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a student being precluded from sitting the final assessment.
Word count penalty: A piece of assessment which exceeds the prescribed word limit will attract a penalty of 10% of the total marks available for the piece of assessment for every 100 words, or part thereof. The total word count for essay and other written assessments will exclude bibliography; footnote numbers; footnote citation; cover page and include body text; headings and sub-headings; quotations; anything other than numbers and citations in footnotes.
Referencing guide: The Sydney Law School expects you to use the Australian Guide to Legal Citation (4th edition, 2018) for your footnoting style, although you should confirm this with your lecturer, and a link to the library website where this is set out comprehensively is available at https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/c.php?g=508212&p=3476376

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library Reading List available on Canvas.

Kumar, Odgers and Peden, Uniform Evidence Law: Commentary & Materials (2018, 6th ed)

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate the depth of your disciplinary expertise with regard to evidence law;
LO2. demonstrate critical thinking, problem solving and inventiveness in using your knowledge of evidence law to develop and assess arguments regarding novel fact situations;
LO3. demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills, in class discussion and written assessment respectively;
LO4. demonstrate information/digital literacy by carrying out research on the issues raised in the course;
LO5. demonstrate appreciation of the ethical dimensions of the adversarial trial; and
LO6. demonstrate capacity to influence in your professional life with regard to both the resolution of individual conflict situations and in policy debates.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

Changes were made to course delivery and assessment in order to accommodate the COVID-19 circumstances.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

LAWS5013: Evidence

Intensive June - July, 2022 [Block mode] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect