Mini Trial Procedure - some suggestions

1. Before the actual trial, please ask the teacher to allocate students to the various parts in the mock trial. The roles are described in more detail the Student Handouton MiniTrial Procedure (see Chapter 2 below). Please feel free to use the suggested timetable and the role allocation forms (in Chapter 2) as aids to preparation. Up to three students can be selected to be the lawyers for each side of the case. If you wish, one student can conduct examination-in-chief, one the cross-examination, and the other the speech to the jury. Or the students can share the tasks. If you feel that asking three students to speak causes complications then nominate just one (or perhaps two) to ask the questions - and ask the other two to help him / her prepare and then sit beside them in "court". To keep the trial moving and to inject more realism, a lawyer volunteer could act as Sheriff.

2.Assign students to role-play the accused, the Clerk of Court, witnesses, members of the jury, court officer, policeman and reporters / media representatives – depending on numbers.

3.Before starting the trial, spend some time going over the basis court procedure and describe the main steps of a trial as outlined in the "Student Handout" (see Chapter 2 below) - in whatever detail is appropriate for the class concerned and the time available. There is a summary of the procedure in the handout.

4.For the purposes of MiniTrial there will be no re-examination of witnesses (unless the pupils are comfortable with the idea) and there will be no objections by the lawyers. If there are objections (and you may not be able to prevent them) - reserve discussion of them for later. Be flexible and play things by ear. It's meant to be fun.

5. Prepare enough copies of the relevant papers in advance.

The teacher and lawyer volunteers should probably have a complete set of MiniTrial materials each.

The students need only get copies of "Chapter 2- The Student Handout" and copies of the selected cases from "Chapter 3 - MiniTrial Case Papers".

6. Timing. You may think it best to spend one session preparing for the trial and discussing things - and a second period actually running it. Teachers will know what best suits their students.

Try to find everyone a role to play - even if it means having a jury of more than 15. Remind jurors and other that they will have to pay close attention to what happens in the court if they are to carry out their roles properly - and return a true verdict.

Allow an hour and a half for each MiniTrial.

7. Arrange the classroom furniture so that it roughly resembles the layout of a court (or as near as possible). Some imagination may be required. See the "Court Layout" in the student handout below. There is an interactive illustration of a Sheriff & Jury Court Scene on the MiniTrial web-site at www.minitrial.org.uk . A “gavel” is not used in the Sheriff Court – or the High Court.

8. Provide the students with instructions along the following lines:

Lawyers

Tell the lawyers (students) to read all the papers - the facts, the court documents and all of the witness statements (including the witnesses for the other side). They should prepare

· questions for all the witnesses, and

· a speech to the jury.

Provide them with copies of the Student Handout (Chapter 2 below) to use in their preparation. This could be homework.

Ask the teacher if it would be helpful if the lawyers had help from other students - so that they could prepare in a small group. When they are in court (the class-room) the lawyers (and their helpers) should sit at a table in "the well of the court" in front of the Sheriff. The Prosecutor should be on the right hand side (as the Sheriff looks at the court from the bench). The defence should be on the left.

Explain the difference between credibility (by asking "is the evidence to be believed?") or reliabilty (by asking "is the evidence to be relied upon?").

You may even wish to introduce basic advocacy skills - creating an event, short and simple questions, open and closed questions and so forth.

The lawyers should assume that no-one knows anything about the case. They may wish to set a goal for themselves – such as trying to allow the witnesses paint a vivid picture of each of the relevant facts so that the jury will remember them in the jury room.

Be careful not to risk "information overload". The basic idea is to help students become more familiar with the legal process and to have some fun at the same time.

With more experienced student, you may wish to give the students some more details about of what the lawyer is trying to achieve. You could outline, in simple terms, some of the main concepts by reference to: -

· the draft Crown speech,

· the draft defence speech and

· the draft Sheriff's charge

- copies of which are all with the case papers (in Chapter 3 below).

Lawyers should remember to bring notebooks (or paper) and pens with them – so that they can take notes of the evidence during the trial and add to their written submissions if need be.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 584