Year 11 Legal Studies
Unit 2: Area of Study #4
Assessment task details
Task
Research report
Unit/area of study
Unit 2: Issues in Civil Law
Area of Study 4: ‘A question of rights’
Outcome 4
Describe an Australian case illustrating rights issues, and discuss the impact of the case on the legal
system and the rights of individuals.
Instructions
To complete the following assessment task satisfactorily, you need to demonstrate an understanding
of the relevant key knowledge and key skills for Outcome 4 in Unit 2.
The task requires you to research one landmark test case that has had a significant impact on the
legal system of Australia and on an individual or group that suffered an abuse of their rights. Once
you complete your research you will be required to write up your findings in the form of a newspaper
report—an investigative feature story similar to ones you would find in weekend newspapers.
Refer to the steps for completing the task below. Note that each of the parts listed in Step 2 must be
included in your report; however, it is up to you to decide how you structure your newspaper report.
You might like to write your report as one large article, covering all parts, or you could divide the
report into a number of articles. In total, your report should be approximately 1000 words in length.
Due Date: 1st/2nd November
Step 1: Choose your focus case
Your teacher will either allocate a case to you or allow you to choose a case. Either way, your
newspaper article report should be based on one of the following landmark test cases:
 Mabo v. Queensland (No. 2) (Mabo) (1992)
 Wik Peoples v. State of Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1
 Dietrich v. The Queen (1992) 177 CLR 292
 Roach v. Electoral Commissioner (2007) 233 CLR 162
 Lange v. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997) 189 CLR 520
 Tuckiar v. R (1934) 52 CLR 335
 Croome v. State of Tasmania (1997) 191 CLR 119
 R v. L (1992) 174 CLR 379
Step 2: Research
Once you have chosen a case, begin conducting your research. Your research should cover the
following details:
1 The individual or group that had their rights infringed—who were they?
2 Which right(s) was infringed? How was the right(s) infringed?
3 What role did the individual or group play in taking the case to court? What/who encouraged
them?
4 What were the facts of the case?
5 What issues were in question? What point of view did the group/individual have on these
issues?
6 What laws existed at the time of this case? How did they impact on the individual/group? That
is, what specific laws affected the group/individual and compelled them to start legal action?
7 Which groups/individuals had opposing views on the issues in this case? What were these
views?
8 What was the outcome of the case? Who was successful? What did the judges decide?
9 How did the decision affect the individual/group concerned?
10 How did the decision affect others, for example government, businesses and other like
groups/individuals.
Useful resources
 Your textbook
 Other textbooks
 www.austlii.edu.au
 www.theage.com.au
 www.heraldsun.com.au
 www.theaustralian.com.au
 www.highcourt.gov.au
Where possible, use websites ending in gov.au or edu.au, although general searches using the
name of the case should result in many relevant resources.
Step 3: Organise your information
Once you have completed your research, consider the structure and format of your report. Will you
write one large, all-encompassing article, or will you divide your report into two or three smaller
articles? This decision will then determine the way you need to organise your information. One way of
preparing your report is as follows:
Article 1: Describe the people involved, the rights that have been infringed and the role they took in
bringing the case to court.
Article 2: Describe the facts of the case, the issues involved and the conflicting attitudes in relation to
the issues raised in the case.
Article 3: Describe the outcome of the case and discuss how the individual/group was affected by the
decision as well as how the legal system and other groups were impacted by the decision.
Step 4: Write the report
The final step is to write the report. It might be useful to see how other reports about court cases are
written. Examine the structure and format of two or three newspaper articles on the case. You may
have already read a number of newspaper articles as part of your research. If so, look at how they are
written rather than just the content. If your research did not uncover newspaper articles on the case,
use the websites listed above to help you locate some or conduct a search based on the name of the
case.
In-depth feature articles tend to include photos, illustrations, diagrams or maps. Include at least two
graphical elements in your article.
An engaging headline is also essential.
This is a report on an aspect of the law, so remember to use legal terminology correctly.
Before submitting your report, proofread it and then correct any errors.
Assessment criteria
 Demonstrated understanding of the issues and law surrounding the case.
 Description of the role of the individual/group in bringing about changes in the law.
 Discussion of the impact of the outcome of the case on the individual/group, society and the
legal system.
 Correct use of legal terminology.
 Thoroughness of research.
 Acknowledged sources of print and electronic information.
Assessment rubric
Name: ___________________________________________
Assessment
criteria
Very High
(5)
Demonstrated
understanding of
the issues and
law surrounding
the case
Description of the
role of the
individual/group
in bringing about
changes in the
law
Discussion of the
impact of the
outcome of the
case on the
individual/group,
society and the
legal system
Correct use of
legal terminology
Thoroughness of
research
Acknowledged
sources of print
and electronic
information
Total marks: ________ / 30
High
(4)
Medium
(3)
Low
(2)
Very Low
(1)
Not Shown
(0)