Mock Trial

Time: 8 hours over two weeks

 

Materials:

                 Computers with Internet Access

                 Printer

                 Copier

 

Procedure:

Divide class into two groups.  One group will be the prosecution representing Japanese Americans who were forced to live in internment camps during WWII.  The other group will be the defense representing the United States Government.

Instruct each group that they will be responsible for either building a case for or against the creation of the interment camps.  They must work as a team to do research, find evidence to support their side, find sources that they can use to scridt testemonies from "witnesses" and write the opening statement and closing argument.

In two weeks, a guest class will come in and serve as the jury.  The first three hours of the lesson will be spent doing research and organizing their case.  By the end of the third hour, each group will have to provide the evidence that they plan to use and a list of no more than four witnesses.  These items will be shared with the opposing side.

The last three hours will be spent organizing the evidence, practicing witness testimonies and writing the opening statements and closing arguments and studying the evidence that will be presented by the opposing side.

On the day of the trial, the teacher will serve as the Judge.  The trial will follow the following format:

 

Steps in a Trial:

1. Calling of Case by Bailiff: "All rise. The Court of _______________ is now in session. Honorable Judge ______________ presiding.
   
2. Opening Statement: First the prosecutor (criminal case) or plaintiff's attorney (civil case), then the defendant's attorney, explain what their evidence will be and what they will try to prove.
    
3. Prosecution’s or Plaintiff's Case: Witnesses are called to testify (direct examination) and other physical evidence is introduced. Each witness called is cross-examined '(questioned so as to break down the story or be discredited) by the defense.
    
4. Defendant's Case: Same as the third step except that defense calls witnesses for direct examination; cross-examination by prosecution/plaintiff.
    
5. Closing Statement: An attorney for each side reviews the evidence presented and asks for a decision in his/her favor.
    
6. Jury Instructions (Jury Trials Only): The Judge explains to the jury appropriate rules of law that it is to consider in weighing the evidence. As a general rule, the prosecution (or the plaintiff in a civil case) must meet the burden of proof in order to prevail. In a criminal case this burden is very high. 

The jury will deliberate (vote) and decide who the winner of the trial is.