Next Witness, Julie Fragar—TEACHER NOTES

Level year: Year 11 Worksheet number: 5.0.2

Curriculum context Related worksheets Legal Studies 2019 (General Senior Syllabus): Worksheet 1.1.2 • Criminal Unit 1: Beyond reasonable doubt, Topic 3: Worksheet 1.3.0 trial process

In 2016 and 2017 based artist Dr Julie Fragar attended two trials at the Supreme Court of . Based on this experience, Fragar created a collection of artworks entitled Next Witness. The collection was motivated by her desire to better understand the way that courts’ legal and aesthetic structures interact with its human participants.

Learning objective Learners will: • explain the key personnel involved in a criminal trial • explain the attributes of a fair trial • learn how to evaluate information

Focus question • How does the criminal justice system and its citizens interact?

Key concepts • Barrister • Criminal law • Crown • Crown Prosecutor • Evidence • Judge • Judgment • Jury • Legal representation • Media • Murder • Trial • Witness Further information • Dr Karen Crawly, Artist as Witness: Painting a Criminal Trial – app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2018/10/26/artist-as-witness-painting-a-criminal-trial/

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About the exhibition In 2016 and 2017 Dr Julie Fragar sat in the public gallery of a murder trial in the Supreme Court of Queensland in Brisbane. Based on this experience, Fragar created a series of artworks entitled Next Witness. Each artwork examines the courtroom as a very specific social and architectural space. It also examines the structure of a trial using a narrative and biographical history perspective. Each artwork also investigates the conflicting relationship between the public interest and people’s privacy. The artworks are multi-layered and reflect shifting perspectives, roles and scenes within a trial. Next Witness also integrates Fragar through the inclusion of her own solitary eye, allowing her to connect with the viewer.

About the artist Dr Julie Fragar studied at the University of , completing her PhD at Griffith University. She is currently based in Brisbane. Fragar has had a long career interest in biographies and the narrative form. Her artworks have been exhibited in galleries throughout Australia including Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania; as well as internationally in Vancouver and Philadelphia.

Suggested learning activities The artworks are on display from 2 May to 5 September 2019 at Supreme Court Library Queensland, floor 12, Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law. High quality resolution images of the artworks can be found: • Sarah Cottier Gallery, Julie Fragar – sarahcottiergallery.com/artist/13/Julie_Fragar/209/JULIE_FRAGARNext_Witness6_Oct ober___3_November__2018.htm#e209 • OCULA, Sarah Cottier Gallery Exhibitions: Julie Fragar – ocula.com/art-galleries/sarah- cottier-gallery/exhibitions/julie-fragar/ The artworks can be used as a springboard to explore the roles and perspectives of legal personnel, victims and the general public, critically examine the role of the media in informing the public about legal proceedings and discuss the legal concepts of open justice and the right to legal representation. Some suggested questions are: Appearing Before the Hawkes, the Hounds and Those who tell the Stories, 2018, Oil on board 1. The High Court of Australia in Packer v Peacock [1912] HCA 8 [588] held that the, ‘…public are entitled to entertain a legitimate curiosity as to such matters as the violent or sudden death or disappearance of a citizen, the breaking into a house, the theft of property, or any other crime...’. Collect any crime related news articles that appear over the course of a

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week. Do you believe the reports are balanced, accurate and paint a truthful picture of crime in our community? Is the balance between public interest and privacy adequate?

2. Before using a source of information in an assignment it is important that you evaluate it. Identify the different factors you might use to decide whether a source is credible.

Exhibit 30: Post-Mortem Injury (Incise Wound), 2018, Oil on board 1. Identify what direct or circumstantial evidence may be presented during a murder trial.

2. In an article concerning the Witness Assistance Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, South Australia (2016) wrote, ‘In presenting evidence in court during a Trial, officers of the court commonly refer to ‘the deceased’ or ‘the body’, which at times can feel ‘clinical’, cold and detached from the person and personality of their loved one.’ Explain why officers of the court present evidence in this way. What impact may this approach have on the family of the victim, the defendant and the jury? Examine the benefits and limitations of this approach from all perspectives.

Verdict by Committee (Group Think), 2018, Oil on board 1. Victorian Juries Commissioner Paul Dore (2018) stated, ‘We don’t really know how 12 strangers go about their delibrations, and I imagine it happens in different ways, but it seems to work.’ Describe the process you would use to make a decision if you were part of a jury. Does your approach differ from others?

2. The High Court of Australia in Kingswell v The Queen [1985] HCA 72 [301-2] held, ‘The institution of trial by jury also serves the function of protecting both the adminstration of justice and the accused from the rash judgment and prejudices of the community itself…That is, not, of course, to close one’s eyes to reality and assert that the traditional criminal trial by jury is without any identifiable weaknesses.’ Select the strongest argument for and against the use of a jury in a criminal trial.

The Figureheads, 2018, Oil on board 1. Article 14 (3)(d) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states, ‘To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it.’ Explain the benefits of having a legal representative (such as a barrister) advocate on behalf of a defendant. Why may some defendants represent themselves in court?

The Gatekeeper (Portrait of an Honourable Justice), 2018, Oil on board 1. Describe the role of a judge in a criminal trial.

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Reference list Dulaney M & Carrick D 2018, ‘Despite bias and bigotry, the jury system can still deliver justice, experts say’, ABC News, 17 May, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-16/how-jury-system- accounts-for-prejudice-and-bias-among-jurors/9763178. Kingswell v The Queen [1985] HCA 72 (18 November 1985). Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions 2016, Homicide, Government of South Australia: Director of Public Prosecutions, dpp.sa.gov.au/was/prosecuting-crimes/homicide-2/. Packer v Peacock [1912] HCA 8 (13 March 1912). United Nations 2018, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx.

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