Dr Jamie Walvisch

Overview

Jamie completed his Bachelors of Arts and Laws at Monash University in 1999. He graduated first in his class and received the Supreme Court Prize.

After completing his articled clerkship at Holding Redlich, he commenced work as a Research and Policy Officer at the Victorian Law Reform Commission. He worked at the Commission from 2001-2003, during which time he co-authored a number of publications on Defences to Homicide, Disputes Between Co-owners and Workplace Privacy.

During 2003-04 he was employed as a Research Analyst for the Australian Institute of Criminology, where he co-authored two reports for the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Drugs and Crime Prevention in Victoria: Final Report of the Inquiry into Fraud and Electronic Commerce and Final Report of the Inquiry into Violence Associated with Motor Vehicle Use. From 2001-04 Jamie was the chairperson of Springvale Monash Legal Service.

From 2005-12 Jamie worked as Senior Research Officer at the Judicial College of Victoria. In this role he was responsible for developing, drafting and updating the Victorian Criminal Charge Book. This is the main judicial reference book used by judges and legal practitioners in Victorian criminal jury trials. He also co-authored the Report of the Jury Directions Simplification Project (the 'Weinberg Report').

From 2013-20 Jamie worked as a Lecturer at Monash University, where he taught a range of units, including Criminal Law, Forensic Evidence, Lawyer's Ethics and Professional Practice. Jamie has worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Melbourne Law School since 2020.

Jamie’s current research focuses on the intersection between law, psychiatry and psychology, especially in the sentencing context. He has published articles and book chapters on this theme, and given numerous national and international conference presentations. His PhD thesis, titled Sentencing Offenders With Mental Illnesses: A Principled Approach, examined the circumstances in which mental illnesses should be taken into account when sentencing offenders who are convicted of serious crimes. He is currently drafting a monograph on this issue for Cambridge University Press (UK). Jamie's other research interests include neurolaw (the intersection between neuroscience and the law) and forensic evidence.