This semester, one of my electives was ceramics. I was very excited to start to start the course and learn new things because I haven’t worked with clay before. I really enjoyed the course and this E – portfolio will share photos of some of my finished pot, research project and how I have improved my capabilities.

My finished pots:

My pots are 2 different sizes, 1 blue and 1 purple. I used a pencil to make the bumps on the sides.

During the course, the class was given the task to research the Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods. I previously didn’t know much about these two periods and using my capabilities I was able to do really well on this task.

This is the capabilities wheel:

The main capabilities I improved were inquisitiveness, problem solving and creativity.

My inquisitive capability was improved this semester because of the research task I did. We had to research about the Palaeolithic and Neolithic period; 2 different periods from the Stone Age. I developed my inquisitive capability because I had to research something I previously knew nothing about. Inquisitive is a good capability to have and further develop.

Another capability I improved this semester was problem solving. This is a good skill to have in ceramics because there are many problems that have to be solved. Some problems arose when I was making my final pots because you had to keep the surface of the clay at a good consistency. It couldn’t be too wet or dry. I used my problem solving skills to have the right amount of water so my pot surface wasn’t too wet or dry. Problem solving is a good skill to have in life because it helps keep control of our work.

I improved my creativity capability by designing how I was going to present my findings of the two periods in my visual diary. I also had to be creative when designing my own pots and then glazing them. Creativity is an important skill in art but it can also be used in other subjects so I enjoyed this course and enhancing my capabilities.

This is a picture of my finished research task in my visual diary:

In conclusion, I enjoyed this ceramics course and learned several new things. It was a different course than I would normally do but I enjoyed working with a new medium, clay, for the first time.

In this project, we learnt about the principles of justice that uphold Australia’s legal system, such as the presumption of innocence, an impartial judiciary, and the right to legal representation. I studied the case of Lloyd Rayney, and analysed how these principles were both upheld and violated in this case. After writing an essay on the topic, we were required to incorporate feedback and edit the essay so that it was fit for online publication. This essay is the end result of that editing process. It demonstrates my ability to take feedback, and to refine a piece of written work to produce a professional result.

Our legal system aims to follow the principles of justice however, this is not always achieved. An example of the principles of justice not being met (compromised) is Lloyd Rayney’s case. Lloyd Rayney’s case was unjust because the media spread false information about him, leading members of the public to believe he murdered his wife Corryn Rayney. Lloyd Rayney’s trial was unjust because the principles of justice Innocent Until Proven Guilty, Burden and Standard of Proof and Equal Treatment Before the Law were compromised. One principle of justice that was met was Independence of Courts. Principles of justice are important because they bring justice and fairness to trials. If we did not have them, people like Lloyd Rayney would be falsely accused of crimes they did not commit.

Lloyd Rayney’s case started with his wife, Corryn Rayney, attending a boot scooting class in Bentley and not returning home one night to their home in Como. Ms Rayney was reported missing by her husband on August 8, 2007. A week later, her car was found in Subiaco with an oil leak trailing back to Kings Park. Her body was found buried in Kings Park on August 15, 2007. The body was found buried with the head down which speeded the decaying process; it was unclear how and when she died. The investigation of her death lead to Lloyd Rayney’s home being search by search warrants. They discovered he had tapped into Ms Rayney’s phone and had been recording her messages, weeks before her death. During the investigation, a press conference was held in 2007 and Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Lee, who was in charge of the investigation spoke to the media. He stated Lloyd Rayney was the “prime and only suspect”, meaning Lloyd Rayney was the only suspect the police were investigating. This was misinterpreted by the media, and it led to members of the public believing he was guilty of murder. Much of the public had already heard about Lloyd Rayney’s case through the media and he was not able to have an unbiased jury. Instead, a single judge made their decision and Lloyd Rayney was found not guilty of murdering Corryn Rayney. Her killer is still unknown.

The principle of justice Innocent Until Proven Guilty was not met in Lloyd Rayney’s trial. This principle means that you are treated as innocent until enough evidence has been found to prove you guilty beyond reasonable doubt. This is important to ensuring a fair trial because you are not seen as already guilty before your trial. This principle was compromised in Lloyd Rayney’s case because he was seen as guilty because of the media’s misinterpreted information from a press conference in 2007. Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Lee stated Lloyd Rayney was the “prime and only suspect”. The media had seen this as Lloyd Rayney guilty and spread distorted information that he was definitely guilty. People also assumed he was guilty because Lloyd and Corryn Rayney had marital problems. Lloyd Rayney was seen as guilty as by the public and brought injustice to his case.

Burden and standard of proof is another principle of justice that was compromised in Lloyd Rayney’s case. This principle means that there needs to be sufficient proof to find someone guilty of a crime. There must be proof beyond reasonable doubt. An example of this principle of justice being compromised in Lloyd Rayney’s case is that he was the only suspect to be investigated in his wife, Corryn Rayney’s, murder. It was not fair for Lloyd Rayney to be the only suspect investigated because there could have been proof for another suspect other than Lloyd Rayney. The principle of justice Burden and Standard of Proof was compromised in Lloyd Rayney’s case and made it unjust.

Equal Treatment Before the Law is another principle of justice that was compromised in Lloyd Rayney’s case. This principle means that irrespective of their gender, race, sexuality, identity or ability, everyone has the right to have legal representation in court. This is important because it allows everyone to have a fair trial and eliminate bias. An example of this principle of justice being compromised in Lloyd Rayney’s case is when Detective Senior Sergeant Jack Lee stated in a press conference to the media, he was the “prime and only suspect”. This is not equal treatment because what was stated in the press conference got misinterpreted and spread around media and ruined his reputation. Since everyone had heard about Lloyd Rayney’s case, they had already formed an opinion and it would be impossible for him to get an unbiased jury. The principle of justice Equal Treatment Before the Law should have provided Lloyd Rayney an unbiased jury; instead it was compromised and made his case unjust.

One principle of justice that was met was Independence of Courts. This means courts must be separate from media, parliament and government and make uninfluenced decisions. This is important because media can be a major influence on cases, and this makes them unfair. This principle of justice was met in Lloyd Rayney’s case because his case has massive amounts of media influence, but the final court decision was unbiased. The media convinced members of the public that Lloyd Rayney was guilty of murdering his wife, Corryn Rayney. It was impossible to provide Lloyd Rayney with an unbiased jury because just about everyone already had an opinion on the case. Since there was no jury, a single judge made the ruling and Lloyd Rayney was found not guilty of murdering Corry Rayney. The Independence of Courts is an important principle of justice because it allows for a fair trial, and bias from other sources can be eliminated.

Our legal system aims to follow the principles of justice although this is not always achieved. Lloyd Rayney’s case was unjust because of three of the principles of justice were compromised. They are Innocent Until Proven Guilty, Burden and Standard of Proof and Equal Treatment before the Law. If all of the principles of justice were achieved, Lloyd Rayney’s case would have been fair. One principle of justice that was achieved was Independence of Courts. Despite minor flaws in our justice system, it does a great job at bringing justice to Australia. For improvement, cases like Lloyd Rayney’s should have had less media coverage so that Lloyd Rayney had privacy and could have an unbiased jury. Principles of justice are important and all of them must be met to make a case just and fair.\