Purpose of the Principles of Justice:

Australia ensures that everyone will be equally treated before the law by basing the legal system on the principles of Justice. Having these principles in place assures that the court will be well-mannered and appropriate. An example of one of the principles is the Presumption of innocence, which means that the accused will be treated and thought of as innocent unless they can be proven guilty. Another principle is that Everyone is equal before the law, meaning that everyone is entitled to equal treatment by law without discrimination. If someone in the court speaks a different language, they are entitled to have a translator to make sure everyone understands what everyone is saying. This principle can also be seen if someone in court is under 18, they will have the right to have a parent/guardian or independent adult present in court. Having these principles in place is what ensures that every case In Australia will be treated fairly and appropriately.

The John Button case:

The case that will be compared to the principles of justice is the John Button Case. In 1963, John Button was accused of murder. He was celebrating his 19th birthday with his little brother named Jim, and his girlfriend Rosemary Anderson who was 17 years old. While they were having dinner, Button and Anderson got into an argument and Anderson left the house to go back to her own. Button was concerned for Anderson as she was willing to walk home, so he followed her in his Simca Sedan car asking her to get in the car so he could take her home. Anderson refused. Button decided to stop the car and smoke a cigarette to give Anderson time to calm down, a small amount of time is needed to smoke a single cigarette, around 4 minutes even. After he had a smoke, he continued driving and found Anderson injured laying next to the side of the road, her injuries were caused by a car crash involving one car and one pedestrian. Button picked Anderson up and placed her in the backseat of his car in a panic, and drove to his family clinic in an attempt to save Anderson’s life. Anderson died later on. Police brought Button to the police station to interrogate him on what happened to Anderson. Instead, the police wanted Button to sign a confession, they tried to make Button sign it by using violence. After being physically assaulted, Button was informed about Anderson’s death. This was the woman who Button planned to spend the rest of his life with who he was told was dead. He signed the confession overwhelmed with faith that the police would find the real person who killed Anderson so he could be free to go home. The false confession was used in court and Button was decided guilty and sentenced to 10 years of hard labour. Button was only 19 years old when all of this happened to him, 39 years later he was proven innocent with the help of a journalist named Estelle Blackburn, and William Russel a car crash expert.