MiniTrial Starter Pack

Chapter 2 - The Student Handout:

MiniTrial Procedure

To run your MiniTrial : -

• decide who is to play which role - see the list of participants below,
• decide on a timetable for the various stages of the trial - see below,
• set out the classroom to resemble the approximate layout of a court - see the suggested layout below, and
• follow the MiniTrial instructions (below) - which contains the dialogue and the "stage" directions you will need.

You can highlight the text if you think it helps. The headings give you an over-view of the procedure - but can be left out of account if you wish.

Participants

· Sheriff - the judge who sits on "the bench".

· Accused - the person accused of the crime by the Crown.

· Prosecution lawyer - the Procurator Fiscal Depute for the Crown.

· Defence lawyer - the Solicitor for the accused who may also instruct counsel (ask an Advocate or a senior QC to appear).

· Clerk of Court - who manages and administers the Court under the Sheriff's direction.

· Court Officer - who escorts the Sheriff and the witnesses - so that they are at the right pace at the right time.

· The Jury (15 jurors) - who are balloted from members of the public.

· Witnesses - who are cited to attend court to give evidence.

· Policeman - who is on hand to escort the accused or deal with any trouble

· Members of the Public - who sit in the public gallery.

· Reporters / Media representatives - who can tell others what happened.

Court Layout – using tables

(Chambers / Sheriff's room)

SHERIFF

(sits on the Bench – a separate table)

CLERK OF COURT

(sits at the head of the main table)

O WITNESS

(stands in the Witness Box – a separate seat)

OOO

OOO JURORS

OOO (sit in the Jury Box – rows of seats) COURT OFFICER

OOO (sits near the main table)

OOO

PROSECUTOR DEFENCE

(sits at the main table) THE MAIN TABLE (sit at the main table)

THE ACCUSED

(sits in the dock – in a separate seat)

POLICEMAN

(sits beside the accused)

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 690