"On Wednesday the 12th of February, our Year 11 & 12 Legal Studies classes went on an excursion to Melbourne’s court precinct. Everyone made their own way into the city, and we met up outside Southern Cross Station before heading to the Magistrates’ Court, ready for a day of real-world learning.
Our first stop was the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court. Sitting in the courtroom and watching real cases unfold was both fascinating and eye-opening. Seeing how the lawyers, magistrate, and other legal staff worked together made the whole legal process feel a lot more real—something that’s hard to fully grasp from textbooks alone.
One of the highlights of the morning was getting to talk to a magistrate. He answered all our questions about what his job is like, the challenges he faces, and how he became a magistrate in the first place. It was really interesting to hear about his career path and how much work goes into getting to that level.
After the court visit, we went to Melbourne Central for a well-deserved lunch where we caught up with our friends before the next part of our day.
In the afternoon, we visited the Supreme Court Library. The building itself was very impressive and beautiful, and we got to see old law books and a one-hundred-year-old judges’ wigs. We also learned that Ned Kelly was tried in that very court. A fun fact we read was that when Ned Kelly was sentenced to death, he told the judge, "I'll see you soon." Weirdly enough, the judge died just a week later.
Overall, the excursion was a really cool experience. Seeing how the courts work in person gave us a much better understanding of the legal system, and it was great to get a glimpse of what a legal career might look like."
Written by one of our Year 11 Legal Studies students