School: Arts and Humanities

This unit information may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

  • Unit Title

    Investigating Miscarriages of Justice
  • Unit Code

    CRI2252
  • Year

    2026
  • Enrolment Period

    1
  • Version

    1
  • Credit Points

    15
  • Full Year Unit

    N
  • Mode of Delivery

    On Campus
    Online
  • Unit Coordinator

    A/Prof Pamela HENRY

Description

Despite the rigorous system of trial and appeal, there are always cases where people fall through the cracks. When the criminal justice system gets it wrong, the accused and the victim experience harm. These miscarriages of justice erode confidence in the criminal justice process. This unit provides students with a comprehensive understanding of miscarriages of justice by examining real-world cases where a miscarriage of justice has occurred. Students investigate the various factors that contributed to the miscarriage of justice and identify the points at which the system failed. Students develop the ability to critically consider the nature of an adversarial system of justice by assessing the reliability of evidence and the integrity of the judicial process. This unit will sharpen students' critical thinking skills as they assess the reliability of evidence and the integrity of the judicial process. Students will gain a deeper understanding of how justice can sometimes falter and what can be done to prevent such errors in the future.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. Apply multidisciplinary knowledge and theory to respond to a range of real-world criminology and justice issues.
  2. Investigate and analyse criminology and justice issues independently and collaboratively to critically understand the challenges and solutions relevant to crime and justice.
  3. Engage with global and local culture, including Indigenous knowledges and perspectives, to cultivate cultural responsiveness, social responsibility and personal growth.

Unit Content

  1. Cases where a miscarriage of justice has occured.
  2. Causes of miscarriage of justice (eyewitness error, police investigative practices, erroneous forensic science, expert testimony and rules of admissibility, the role of the jury).
  3. How to undo a miscarriage of justice.
  4. The broader societal implications of miscarriages of justice.
  5. The cultural context of miscarriage of justice.

Learning Experience

ON-CAMPUS

Students will attend on campus classes as well as engage in learning activities through ECU's LMS

For more information see the Semester Timetable

ONLINE

Students will engage in learning experiences via ECU’s LMS as well as additional ECU learning technologies

Assessment

GS1 GRADING SCHEMA 1 Used for standard coursework units

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

ON CAMPUS
TypeDescriptionValue
PortfolioEvidence of critical interrogation of real-world case studies showcasing ethical, defensible, and culturally responsive decision-making50%
Case StudyCase study including evidence of learning and collaboration50%
ONLINE
TypeDescriptionValue
PortfolioEvidence of critical interrogation of real-world case studies showcasing ethical, defensible, and culturally responsive decision-making 50%
Case StudyCase study including evidence of learning and collaboration50%

Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005)

For the purposes of considering a request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Commonwealth 2005), inherent requirements for this subject are articulated in the Unit Description, Learning Outcomes and Assessment Requirements of this entry. The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the support for students with disabilities or medical conditions can be found at the Access and Inclusion website.

Assessment

Students please note: The marks and grades received by students on assessments may be subject to further moderation. Informal vivas may be conducted as part of an assessment task, where staff require further information to confirm the learning outcomes have been met. All marks and grades are to be considered provisional until endorsed by the relevant School Progression Panel.

Academic Integrity

Integrity is a core value at Edith Cowan University, and it is expected that ECU students complete their assessment tasks honestly and with acknowledgement of other people's work as well as any generative artificial intelligence tools that may have been used. This means that assessment tasks must be completed individually (unless it is an authorised group assessment task) and any sources used must be referenced.

Breaches of academic integrity can include:

Plagiarism

Copying the words, ideas or creative works of other people or generative artificial intelligence tools, without referencing in accordance with stated University requirements. Students need to seek approval from the Unit Coordinator within the first week of study if they intend to use some of their previous work in an assessment task (self-plagiarism).

Unauthorised collaboration (collusion)

Working with other students and submitting the same or substantially similar work or portions of work when an individual submission was required. This includes students knowingly providing others with copies of their own work to use in the same or similar assessment task(s).

Contract cheating

Organising a friend, a family member, another student or an external person or organisation (e.g. through an online website) to complete or substantially edit or refine part or all of an assessment task(s) on their behalf.

Cheating in an exam

Using or having access to unauthorised materials in an exam or test.

Serious outcomes may be imposed if a student is found to have committed one of these breaches, up to and including expulsion from the University for repeated or serious acts.

ECU's policies and more information about academic integrity can be found on the student academic integrity website.

All commencing ECU students are required to complete the Academic Integrity Module.

Assessment Extension

In some circumstances, Students may apply to their Unit Coordinator to extend the due date of their Assessment Task(s) in accordance with ECU's Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000001386.

Special Consideration

Students may apply for Special Consideration in respect of a final unit grade, where their achievement was affected by Exceptional Circumstances as set out in the Assessment, Examination and Moderation Procedures - for more information visit https://askus2.ecu.edu.au/s/article/000003318.

CRI2252|1|1