Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

20 minutes

Tune In: Criminal and civil law

20 minutes

Find Out: Coward punch laws

15 minutes

Take Action: Coward punch case study

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: Criminal and civil law

Step 1

Explain that today's lesson will look at the different kinds of law that exist, what sort of behaviour is actually criminal and what happens when someone is found to have committed a crime.

Step 2

Distribute the Student Worksheets and invite students to complete a THINK PAIR SHARE on the following questions:

What is a crime?
What are some different types of crimes you know of?
When does bad behaviour become a crime?
How do people get in trouble when they commit a crime?

Step 3

Read the following to the students:

We all know that laws exist to maintain order in society; if everyone was allowed to do whatever they wanted the world would be chaotic. Who is responsible for making sure that everyone abides by the law, and if they don’t, how do we make sure these people face the consequences of their actions?

Step 4

Read the following definitions along with the students (also on the Student Worksheet):

Criminal vs. Civil Law

Criminal law is one of the two main branches of law. Criminal laws aim to protect society from harm (usually by harming/threatening to harm in some way). These are laws that criminalise acts like murder, manslaughter and assault.

The second main branch of law is called civil law. Civil laws aim to help resolve disputes between two or more people (sometimes companies), usually concerning money.

Step 5

Lead a class discussion to clarify the difference between the two types of laws. You might like to use these prompts:

What kind of laws do you know that aim to protect society from harm/that make certain acts illegal? What examples from the media can we think of? Are these criminal or civil laws?
Consider the following:
- Have we heard of someone being ‘guilty’ of a crime? What do we think this means?
- Who might we find in a courtroom?
What kind of laws do you know that concern disputes between two parties? What examples from the media can we think of? Are these criminal or civil laws?
Consider the following:
- What does it mean where someone ‘sues’ someone else? Some students may have watched the program, Judge Judy - why would her courtroom be considered ‘civil’?
- In what cases would someone be required, by law, to pay someone money in a legal proceeding?

Find Out: Coward punch laws

Safety first: The following activities may be triggering for some students. Consider your group before using them with your class. You may like to offer permission for students to leave the room if they feel this is too much for them or to manage their emotions in whatever way they need to.

Step 1

Play this video:

DOCTOR (vimeo.com/670406200) Password: CowardCool

Mention to students that toward the end of the video, the doctor mentioned a jail term for the perpetrator of a coward punch. Invite students to talk to a partner about what laws they think such a person might be convicted under.

Allow an opportunity for students to share their thoughts with the class.

Step 2

Read the following along with students:

The origins of the coward punch law can be traced back originally to Queensland in 2007 where two men died from a single blow to the head. The attackers were charged with manslaughter (killing another person but without possessing the requisite intent to be charged with murder) but were acquitted (that is, they were found not guilty) due to the fact that to be found guilty of manslaughter the event must be ‘foreseeable’. As such, a gap in the legislation (that is, the law) was identified.

Since 2007, several incidents of one punch deaths have occurred and public outrage motivated various Australian jurisdictions to enact laws specifically criminalising this behaviour.

Step 3

Explain that in recent years, new coward punch laws have been created in some states of Australia to limit confusion and make sentencing more straightforward and consistent for such incidents. This is because it can be very difficult to differentiate between murder, manslaughter and assault crimes.

Step 4

Introduce students to the following task:

Conduct research into the legislation governing murder, manslaughter and coward punch laws in one of the following states:

Western Australia
New South Wales
Queensland
Victoria.

This information can be found in the Criminal Offences Factsheet.

Students should complete the table below (possible answers in italics):

Elements That is, what must be proven to attain a verdict/finding of guilty	Murder	Manslaughter	Coward Punch Law
Result in the death of another person?	Yes	Yes	Yes - but disability can also occur from a coward punch and there may be still be grounds for sentencing in some jurisdictions.
Accused must have possessed intent?	Yes	No	No
Accused must have struck a particular part of the body?	No	No	Yes - head/neck
Can it be caused due to act or omission (a failure to act)?	Yes	Yes	Unclear - it is possible to survive a coward punch and if help was not sought it can increase the likelihood of death, but it is unclear whether this is a factor in sentencing.

Take Action: Coward punch case study

Step 1

Read the following scenario. While you are reading, invite students to highlight any words they don’t understand. We have highlighted some legal words you might like to clarify with your students:

In 2017, 22-year-old Jaiden Walker was struck in the back of the head on a night out in Melbourne’s CBD and later died in hospital. Such an act is called a ‘coward’s punch’. The suspect in the attack was quickly identified to be Andrew Vincec. Vincec was charged and pled guilty. Vincec’s defence attorney argued that the judge should take into consideration that the victim was intoxicated, provoked and that Vincec did not intend to cause the victim to sustain life-ending injuries. The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that Vincec had been reckless and callous in abandoning the grievously injured Walker and that his sentence should be severe. Despite Vincec’s show of remorse and letter to the victim’s family, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison and is to serve a minimum of 5. The victim’s father, Jon, was outraged that Vincec, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, did not receive the mandatory 10-year prison term for killing someone with a coward’s punch. (Source)

Step 2

Discuss the meaning of any highlighted words with the class, looking them up as necessary. You might like students to create a glossary in their workbooks, or you can write a list of the words on the board for them to refer to in the next task.

Step 3

Invite students to work in pairs or individually to answer the questions below. Encourage them to incorporate as many words as possible from the previous activity and highlight them in their responses.

Is the defendant (Vincec) going to be charged per criminal or civil law? Provide reasons to justify your answer.
What facts would be relevant to legal representatives on both sides that would be best to highlight for their client? Consider what facts would ‘help’ each side and which facts would ‘hurt’ each side and note them in the table below (possible answers included in italics):

PROSECUTION (representing the interests of the state and the victim)		DEFENCE (representing the interests of the accused)
Facts that could ‘help’ this side?	Facts that could ‘hurt’ this side?	Facts that could ‘help’ this side?	Facts that could ‘hurt’ this side?
Vincec abandoned Walker	The victim was intoxicated	The victim was intoxicated	Vincec abandoned Walker
The coward punch law doesn't require there to be intent	The victim was provoked	The victim was provoked	The coward punch law doesn't require there to be intent
The coward punch law doesn't require that death be foreseeable	There was no intent by Vincec to kill	There was no intent by Vincec to kill	The coward punch law doesn't require that death be foreseeable
	Vincec showed remorse	Vincec showed remorse

Reflection

Invite students to write individual responses to the following questions (on the Student Worksheet):

Do you think making the coward punch law helps the court make a fairer decision about sentencing?
Do you think the legal consequences of committing a coward punch further prevent people from committing this crime?

Differentiated learning

Extension

Some students might like to research coward punch laws in their own state, or others, completing (an) additional table/s from Part B, Step 4. They could compare the various laws, hypothesising why they may have differences.

Provisions for learning support

The research task in Part B, Step 4 might be too challenging for some students. Instead, they could read this article about the coward punch law changes in NSW, or you could create a worksheet with the answers where they can fill in missing words.

Coward Punch - The Thin Line Between Crimes

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