All the Materials you need are in this starter pack.

MiniTrials

Goldilocks Edition

prepared by

Aigul Bekeyeva

The Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

MiniTrial

“MiniTrial” is an initiative from Scottish Lawyers - supported by The Faculty of Advocates, The Law Society of Scotland and The W.S. Society.

The “Edinburgh MiniTrials” are supported by the The City of Edinburgh Council, The Sheriff Clerk’s Office, Edinburgh, The Procurator Fiscal’s Office, Edinburgh, the Edinburgh Bar Association and the Faculty of Advocates.

The Goldilocks materials have been prepared by Joan Spencer, Trinity Academy, Edinburgh. Joan has been a supporter of MiniTrials since 2002.

The MiniTrial homepage iswww.minitrial.org.uk.

Chapter 1 – Outline

"MiniTrials" are simulated court cases designed to be conducted by schools - within roughly two sessions - or as tailored to suit the class.

Students take part in a reconstruction of a criminal jury trial. They convene the court, hear the evidence and return their own verdict - with the help of lawyer volunteers.

The MiniTrial materials have been prepared by Scottish lawyers - and are based on what actually happens in a Scottish Sheriff Court. They are designed to help students learn about the Scottish legal system, courts and the people who appear in them in an interesting and enjoyable way. MiniTrials are quite simple to run – and they do they not involve lengthy preparation. The trials can be exciting and are conducted seriously along the lines of real trials. The materials can be tailored to suit the interests and abilities of the class concerned. The aim is to improve understanding and discussion about our legal system. The materials are available free - by email or download from www.minitrial.org.uk .

Students will:

1.Become familiar with the role of a criminal trial court. They will also be introduced to court procedure and the function of the jury.

2.Develop an appreciation for the roles of various people who work in the courtroom.

3.Practice communication and critical thinking skills as they prepare and present their case.

All the Materials you need are in this starter pack.

They include: -

Chapter 1 Outline Page 1

Chapter 2 Student Handout on MiniTrial Procedure Page 12

Chapter 3 Case Papers

For Case No. 1 - Malicious MischiefPage 29

Chapter 4 Web-links some law-related links Page 42

Time needed:

About two sessions. An introductory session, then some preparation time followed by an actual trial - or as tailored to suit the class.

Class level:

Primary classes. To run a MiniTrial in a school the minimum number of students is 9 - allowing for a jury of at least one! When two schools are involved – each school will need a minimum of 4 students.

Teachers may wish to check beforehand whether any particular student(s) should for personal reasons not take part.

Teacher's participation:

School teachers are welcome to participate as much - or as little - as they like. Teachers are free to use the MiniTrial materials as they think best – and are encouraged to use lawyer volunteers to help prepare and conduct the trial if possible.

It would be a help if, as a minimum, the teachers could introduce the lawyer volunteers to the class and pass on whatever information might help to make their MiniTrial a success.

It will be assumed that a teacher will be in attendance at all times - even if not actively participating in the trial.

Teachers are welcome to play a more extensive or a starring role if they wish.

For ease of reference we will all be using the same “MiniTrial Starter Pack 2009” throughout.

Those materials have been designed basically for use in a classroom.

Please bear in mind that you will have to be flexible and adapt the basic materials to suit the current situation where several schools will be running trials in real courts – perhaps with several lawyers as helpers.

Further details of the actual MiniTrial arrangements “on the day” will be provided prior to the trials.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 548