The Sentencing Advisory Council runs free, online, interactive You Be the Judge educational sessions for members of the community.
About You Be the Judge Sessions
You will learn about sentencing by performing the role of the judge. During the session, you will sentence a real-life case of:
- culpable driving causing death (‘Annie’)
- burglary and arson (‘Henry’) or
- armed robbery ('Michael').
You will hear from the offender and the victim, learn the basics of sentencing law, then sentence the offender. Finally, you will find out the sentence that the judge imposed in the real-life case. Each session involves questions, polls, discussion and decision-making.
While the sessions deal with serious offences, the content is not explicit. The subject matter and level of legal detail make You Be the Judge ideal for adults as well as for students from Year 9 and above.
Upcoming Sessions
No new sessions are currently scheduled. You can follow us on Eventbrite to be notified of upcoming sessions.
Your Privacy
Your email address and other details will not be used for any purpose other than enrolling you in a session and sending you a short feedback/evaluation survey after the session. See our privacy policy.
The polls we run during each session are anonymous. We may analyse aggregate response data for overall trends, but there is no way we can link your responses back to you.
You Be the Judge Educational Sessions for Organisations and Groups
The Sentencing Advisory Council also offers You Be the Judge sessions for workplaces, organisations and other groups of adults such as:
- adult education groups
- community groups and community leadership programs
- legal service and advocacy organisations
- services working with people affected by crime
- TAFE and university classes.
These sessions are an excellent introduction to sentencing law and practice. They can be customised (by negotiation) to reflect your group’s focus, existing level of knowledge and any special learning objectives. Groups of 12 to 30 people are ideal.
Please use our community education booking form to request a session for your organisation or group.
Secondary Schools
We do not provide You Be the Judge sessions for secondary school classes. Materials for teachers to deliver their own You Be the Judge sessions are available on our website.
