The Clerk reads the indictment (charge) to the jurors

The Clerk says

"Shall I read the indictment, My Lord?"

The Sheriffsays

"Yes please"

The Clerk of Court then says

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury the charge against the accused Goldilocks is that:

On 20 June in the forest, you did maliciously damage property belonging to the three bears who live in the cottage in the forest.

The Clerk administers the oath to the Jury.

The Clerkthen administers the oath to the jury by saying to them:

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, please stand and raise your right hands. Do you swear that you will well and truly try the accused and return a true verdict according to the evidence? Please say "I do"".

The jurors all reply

"I do".

The Sheriff outlines the procedure.

The Sheriffcan then briefly outline the procedure to the Jury - as follows:-

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, you are about to hear the evidence in this case. Please listen carefully. You may take notes if you wish. At the end of the trial you will be asked to decide upon a verdict."

(There are some MiniTrial "Jury Observation Sheets and Checklists" with the case papers if the Jurors wish to use them.)

The witnesses give evidence

The Sheriff then invites the prosecution to begin by looking at the Procurator Fiscal and saying

"Mr/Madam Fiscal who is your first witness?"

The prosecutor simply calls the first witness by saying

"My Lord my first witness is ... (name)"

The witness is collected from the witness room/area and is shown into the witness box by the Court Officer.

Students can use MiniTrial to practice for what could be an important part of their "public speaking" - giving evidence.

It is very important that ALLthe witnesses and the lawyers STAND and SPEAK UP:-

· loudly

· clearlyand

· slowly.

They should try to make sure that everyone in the whole Court- even those at the very back of the room - can

· hear what they say without difficulty,

· remember what they say and

· write down what they say - in notes.

It is important for the prosecutor to remember to ask the Crown witnesses whether they are able to identify the accused as a person they say they saw. That involves asking the witness to look round the court and if they see the person concerned to point him out. If they are able to do so that is sometimes called a “dock identification”. Many cases depend on identification evidence.

The Sheriff puts each witness on Oath - to tell the truth

All witnesses are sworn in before they begin answering questions. This is to remind them that they must tell the truth.

In MiniTrial the Sheriff can use a modified "oath" – using “I promise” instead of “I swear by Almighty God”

The Sheriffstands and raises his or her right hand and says:

“Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. "I promise that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."”

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 714