Reflection Journal on court visit
ASSESSMENT ITEM 1: Reflection Journal
Even before entering courtroom it was evident how nervous every single student in the group I was in was, from the way everyone slowly crept forward, reluctant to be the first one through the door. I had to steel my nerves before pushing the door to
District Courtroom 11 open.
The trial I experienced was the murder of a pair of infant twins due to a lack of sustenance and nutrition in June 2008 (Dick & Kellet, 2008) The accused parties,
(LWS009 Study Guide, 2013, p.15), Kylie Maree Mathews and Mark Ryan Jackman, were the mother and father of the twins. The opposing crown prosecutor’s case
(LWS009 Study Guide, 2013, p.14) was brought on behalf of the State of Queensland.
When I first walked into the courtroom, one of the last people who had had contact with the accused parties before the twins died was being cross-examined by the defending Barrister (M. Backstrom, “LWS009 Lectorial 1”. 2013). It was mentioned that Kylie Mathews isolated the twins from the rest of her family and friends in early
2008. Kylie Mathews also stopped answering calls, messages and rarely left the house. There was limited opportunity for other adults to see the twins, however, there was no active repelling of people who wanted to see the twins. The atmosphere was tense as a second witness was called in. The witness took affirmation as per protocol
(Queensland Government, n.a.), before being cross-examined by the defending
Barrister. This second witness I saw was Kylie Mathew’s consulting psychiatrist, before and after the twins passed away, from 2008 to 2009.
From what I could gather throughout the time I was in the courtroom, Kylie
Mathews’s state of mind was an important issue to be discussed. Applying the process of ISAAC to solving legal problems (M. Backstrom, “LWS009 Lectorial 2” 2013) in this context, a lot of attention was placed on the issue of Kylie Mathew’s psychological state and the operation of “magical thinking” on
Even before entering courtroom it was evident how nervous every single student in the group I was in was, from the way everyone slowly crept forward, reluctant to be the first one through the door. I had to steel my nerves before pushing the door to
District Courtroom 11 open.
The trial I experienced was the murder of a pair of infant twins due to a lack of sustenance and nutrition in June 2008 (Dick & Kellet, 2008) The accused parties,
(LWS009 Study Guide, 2013, p.15), Kylie Maree Mathews and Mark Ryan Jackman, were the mother and father of the twins. The opposing crown prosecutor’s case
(LWS009 Study Guide, 2013, p.14) was brought on behalf of the State of Queensland.
When I first walked into the courtroom, one of the last people who had had contact with the accused parties before the twins died was being cross-examined by the defending Barrister (M. Backstrom, “LWS009 Lectorial 1”. 2013). It was mentioned that Kylie Mathews isolated the twins from the rest of her family and friends in early
2008. Kylie Mathews also stopped answering calls, messages and rarely left the house. There was limited opportunity for other adults to see the twins, however, there was no active repelling of people who wanted to see the twins. The atmosphere was tense as a second witness was called in. The witness took affirmation as per protocol
(Queensland Government, n.a.), before being cross-examined by the defending
Barrister. This second witness I saw was Kylie Mathew’s consulting psychiatrist, before and after the twins passed away, from 2008 to 2009.
From what I could gather throughout the time I was in the courtroom, Kylie
Mathews’s state of mind was an important issue to be discussed. Applying the process of ISAAC to solving legal problems (M. Backstrom, “LWS009 Lectorial 2” 2013) in this context, a lot of attention was placed on the issue of Kylie Mathew’s psychological state and the operation of “magical thinking” on