Below is a breakdown of how well past Legal Studies students answered questions that related to sentencing and punishment. Answers with an asterisk * are the correct answers.
Go to the Legal Studies 2024 HSC Exam Pack link for a copy of the Examination, Marking Feedback and Marking Guidelines.
Mia has been found guilty of threatening a person with a weapon during a robbery. What impact would the use of a weapon have on her sentence and what sentencing factor has been applied?
Impact on sentence | Factor
A. * Longer | Aggravating
B. Longer | Mitigating
C. Shorter | Aggravating
D. Shorter | Mitigating
This question addresses the section “factors affecting a sentencing decision” within the topic Sentencing and Punishment.
This question was answered correctly by 93.50% of candidates with options B (3.78%) and C (2.03%) being the main distractors. This was the third most correctly answered question.
Luca robs a petrol station. Dora hides the money at her house.
Which row of the table describes Luca’s and Dora’s role in this crime?
Luca’s role | Dora’s role
A. Principal in the first degree | Accessory before the fact
B. * Principal in the first degree | Accessory after the fact
C. Principal in the second degree | Accessory before the fact
D. Principal in the second degree | Accessory after the fact
While not in the sentencing section of the syllabus an offender’s role will have an impact upon their sentencing. This question addresses the section “parties to a crime …” within the topic The Nature of Crime.
This question was answered correctly by 94.17% of candidates with options D (3.44%) and A (1.88%) being the main distractors. This was the second most correctly answered question.
Jessica is a 15-year-old who has pleaded guilty to vandalising public property. The magistrate has sentenced her to community service.
What is the main purpose of sentencing in this case?
A. Protection of the community
B * Rehabilitation of the offender
C. Incapacitation of the offender
D. Retribution for the community
This question addresses the section “types of penalties” within the topic Sentencing and Punishment.
Only 56.04% of candidates answered this question correctly with options D (38.68%) and C (3.82%) being the main distractors.
This was the 3rd most POORLY answered question.
Which of the following is a feature of a NSW Criminal Infringement Notice (CIN)?
A. It is issued by a court.
B. It cannot be overturned in court.
C. * It is an alternative to court prosecution.
D. It is always followed by a court proceeding.
This question addresses the section “types of penalties” within the topic Sentencing and Punishment.
Only 22.63% of candidates answered this question correctly with options A (50.58%) and D (20.73%) being the main distractors.
This was the most POORLY answered question in the paper.
To what extent does the criminal trial and sentencing process provide justice for adult offenders?
This was a very broad extended response question on how both the criminal trial and sentencing process provide justice and is restricted to adult offenders only.
A “to what extent” question requires candidates to make a judgement by stating “how much and/or to what degree”, the criminal trial and sentencing process achieves justice for adult offenders.
Marker Feedback from the link above stated:
In better responses, students were able to:
• identify and apply knowledge and understanding specific to both the criminal trial and sentencing process
• make a clear judgement of the extent to which both processes provide justice specifically for adult offenders
• link and support judgements with a variety of relevant examples
• demonstrate depth of knowledge and understanding about how well justice is achieved for adult offenders throughout their response.
The mean was only 7.62/15.00, which indicates some students struggled to answer the question as asked or to balance their answer with the criminal trial and sentencing process. This was the lowest mean for the Crime question in the past 5 HSC examinations.
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