Mock the Trial?

[Smart Duck]

Anybody do/done mock trial? This is my first year, and I need some suggestions on how to write an opening statement for the prosecution of a murder case. Thankies!


Or you can just share some pearls of wisdom for the inexperienced.

[Bangel]

I. Love. Mock. Trials.

Could you go into a bit more detail about the murder case? Who's being convicted, what the police think happened, etc.?

[Hunter Lupe]

Prosecurtion opening statement is the first thing the jury hears -- you need to say what you're going to prove, and you need to convey the convicted as guilty (more importantly, make people believe you (more in a real trial than a mock one)).
You're welcome to use any speculation possible in this statement (although you might want to stay within reason unless you want a "They're nuts" reaction from the jury).

[Smart Duck]

The defendant is the CEO of a herbicide/pesticide company, and the deceased is a game and parks employee that was looking into the unusual amount of dead cranes. The cranes were dying from a pesticide made by the company, which also kept them from bankruptcy. Thanks Hunter.

[wolftracker]

I competed in Mock Trial all through high school on a team that made it to the state tournament twice.

Your job as opening attorney is to set the tone for the rest of the case. You need to tell the jury what your team is going to prove during the trial. Present your witnesses and what they will testify to in regards to the case. Introduce the defendant and why/how you will prove they did it. Set up the framework. As our advisor used to tell us again and again "You've got to tell them what you're going to tell 'em. Tell 'em. Then tell 'em what you told 'em." Everything you talk about in your openning should be information you know you can solicit over the course of the trial, the closing can speculate if need be.

What state are you competing in and what university wrote the trial?

[Chaud]

I know a bit about court. Don't get sued in a Supreme Court

Once my dad was elected randomly for jury duty....he had to leave the house at eight.

[robot]

The best part about being a Paralegal Studies major {for the time being} is participating in all of the mock trials. However, ours' also involved writing up all of the court documents, etc.

As wolftracker said, where is the trial supposedly taking place? Do you know what sort of remedy the prosecution is supposed to be asking for?

[Alex]

We were going to have a mock trial in my Legal Studies class, but we ran out of time, and now we've moved onto a new unit.

Actually, I should speak to the teacher and see if we can do one. They sound fun ^-^

I know a bit about court. Don't get sued in a Supreme Court

Why not?

[[Ryu]]

Mock Trial. Good times... Haha. I did it in Middle school and got crushed each time. We found one judge we all hated though. I don't think I'd ever do it again, I don't like people... But yeah..

Any details on the case?

[Lass]

Mock trials look fun. I've never participated in one, but my brother went to some summer program at a college and they had a mock trial on illegal whaling.

Once my dad was elected randomly for jury duty....he had to leave the house at eight.

I know that in America anyone over the age of 18 has to be on a jury every few years. Dont sound so suprised. And my dad was elected to be the foreman once, and the case went on for about 2 weeks.

[wolftracker]

Once my dad was elected randomly for jury duty....he had to leave the house at eight.

I know that in America anyone over the age of 18 has to be on a jury every few years. Dont sound so suprised. And my dad was elected to be the foreman once, and the case went on for about 2 weeks.

In the US everyone over 18 has the potential to be called for jury duty, but the chances of getting called every few years is very slim unless you live in a tiny community where the pool of potential jurors would be small. Most adults will get called several times in their lifetime, but even if you're called you won't necessarily be placed on a jury. I was called last year but was automatically deferred because I was living at uni. instead of in my home county. My mother has been sent home many times when she was called for criminal cases because many members of our family are police officers and one side or the other thought it would influence her opinion of the trial.

Also, some people in the US will never be called because they've basically fallen off the government's radar. Most of the time they use a mix of voter registration rolls and driver's license records to cull addresses for potential jurors. This practice leaves a lot of people outside of the government's search and has led to complaints about juror misrepresentation in some parts of the country.

[Atamand]

I've done a few. Always end up the judge, and I love it. Judges don't write opening statements. Sorry.

[CrewWolf]

I hate mock trials. Actually I've only done one and it was back in 7th grade. I played a witness for the defendent and I didn't really have to do much, but I got so tongue tied and totally screwed up. The most memorable mistake I made was when I tried to say "This man is not guilty" and "This man is innocent" at the same time. Came out as "This man is guilty". Scarred for life I am

[Lillie]

I know a bit about court. Don't get sued in a Supreme Court

Why not?

I think it's a good idea not to get sued at all.

I'm not sure what mock trials are like. We did the occasional murder case in class but I doubt that it's anything like what you are doing.

It was good to prepare for what the others would say and how to argue against that and cut it to pieces. I think so, anyway.

[Smart Duck]

I had try-outs today, but I won't find anything out until Thursday. thanks everyone for their advice, I'll let you all know what happens.

I'm in Nebraska, and the case was written by some people from the state bar association.