Topic: Mock Trial Work Period

Objective:

Through this assignment, the student will experience how a criminal trial is conducted from indictment to verdict. Students will play the roles of defence and Crown attorneys, as well as defence and Crown witnesses. A guest lawyer generally serves as the judge.

In particular, students will be responsible for preparing the following:

• opening statements,

• direct examinations,

• cross examinations, and

• closing arguments.

In addition, students will learn how to submit the following trial motions:

• requesting an order to exclude witnesses from the courtroom,

• identifying the accused,

• entering pieces of real evidence as exhibits,

• raising objections, and

• answering objections (when called upon by the judge to do so).

Method of Instruction and Evaluation:

The class will be divided into two teams: the Crown team and the defence team.

Each group will read over the mock trial brief, which includes the indictment (i.e. charges), the anticipated evidence of the four witnesses, the notices, and the relevant law associated with the case.

Each group is divided into four lawyers, and one (or two) witnesses. As a team, the group must read over the handout entitled “Mock Trial Workshop: Building a Team Strategy” and use this to prepare their i) verdict objectives, ii) strategy objectives, and iii) supporting facts.

Once each team has established their overall strategy, they will construct the following elements for the trial:

an opening statement (stating, in specific terms, what the team will prove at trial);

an examination of the team’s own witnesses;

a cross-examination of the other team’s witnesses; and

a closing argument (stating, in specific terms, what was proven, through evidence and testimony, at trial);

As the upcoming adjudication (i.e. trial law) unit unfolds, we will have each team present the various components of this trial, and we will then improve upon each component with the application of legal theory. We will then have a final trial which will be adjudicated by student volunteers in a one-hour session.

Please note: No lawyer can conduct more than one questioning of a witness. Thus, each of the team’s four lawyers must prepare either one direct examination, or one cross examination, of a given witness.

Expectations Addressed:

The "Criminal Law and Procedures" strand of the CLN4U Ministry of Education Curriculum Guidelines outlines all of the following specific expectations. The specific expectations addressed by this lesson have been highlighted below.

• Theories of Crime:

  • analyse the main theories that philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, and criminologists use to explain deviant behaviour;

  • explain the relationship between criminal law and morality and what is meant by “criminal conduct”;

  • explain the legal definition of a crime and the concepts of mens rea, actus reus, and strict and absolute liability;

  • explain the purpose of criminal law;

  • compare summary, hybrid, and indictable offences as they relate to criminal law.

• The Criminal Trial Process:

  • explain the processes of police investigation, arrest, search, and interrogation of suspects;

  • explain pre-trial procedures, including plea bargaining and release procedures;

  • identify key features of the criminal trial process (e.g., burden of proof, admissibility of evidence, roles of the judge and courtroom personnel, selection and role of the jury);

  • outline legally acceptable defences to criminal conduct, and evaluate some of the more controversial defences (e.g., “battered spouse syndrome” defence; defence of diminished responsibility as a result of drunkenness);

  • evaluate the different types and purposes of sentences imposed in criminal law.

• Concepts of Justice:

  • explain the concepts and principles of justice as they apply to criminal law (e.g., rule of law, presumption of innocence);

  • analyse situations in Canadian law in which principles of justice conflict (e.g., victims’ rights versus the rights of the accused);

  • analyse cases in which the principles of justice have been violated (e.g., the cases of Donald Marshall, David Milgaard, Guy Paul Morin, Roméo Phillion).

The following online resources are available to help the student prepare for this year's mock trial:

• This year's case
• Trial Strategy Package
• Raising Objections
• Marking Rubric