Student Contributor: Priyanka Sharma
In the dead of night, after surviving on a combination of Redbull and Monster, a Deakin first-year law student has finally finished their meticulously designed case study assignment. With bags under their eyes and fog filling their brain, they scanned through their document one final time. There was no spelling nor grammar errors and not one AGLC citation was wrong. Happy with the work and determined for a "HD" our law student thought,
"One last skim through won't hurt!"
It was only then, that disaster struck. A sinking feeling appeared in the pit of their stomach. Something definitely hurt....
Our naive Deakin Law student understood with horror that they had made a grave mistake.
The plaintiff and defendant had been inadvertently switched.
What had once been a straightforward argument now resembled a complicated mess. A quick glance at the time and an alarming 11:50 p.m flashed back. Our Deakin law student pictured in their mind the "P" or worse, the "N" they might receive if the assignment was turned in. The defendant, who had been the accused, was suddenly portrayed as the unintentional victim, and the plaintiff, who had initially been the innocent one seeking justice was the villain. It was a legal farce of the greatest magnitude.
After deciding against creating a medical emergency for a extension, our Deakin law student could only utter a defeated moan in a last-ditch effort to save their dignity. Ultimately, how can one justify to their lecturer that they confused the plaintiff for the defendant? They let out a sigh of resignation, realising that this blunder would be a tale told for generations of law students to come.
