LawIRL

Mock Trial
Workshop
Eraj Haidari
 Workshop Highlights

▪ A brief introduction of mock trial

▪ Roles in Mock Trial

▪ Mock trial procedure

▪ Students’ responsibilities and commitments

▪ Students role allocation

 Concept
▪ Learning by doing
 Mock?

▪ It means a replica or imitation of something

 What is Mock Trial?

▪ It is an imitation trial which simulates a lower court

adjudication.

▪ It helps lawyers learn mechanics of a trial by use of

volunteers as role players
 Objectives
▪ Prepare the law students to hit the ground running.

▪ Acquire knowledge of the basic structure of the criminal justice system

and court procedures in England and Wales;

▪ Understand how the law operates in real life;

▪ Enhance research skills;

▪ Build advocacy skills;

▪ Practice presenting legal arguments in easily understandable forms;

▪ Develop skills of working in team

 Roles in a Mock Trial
▪ Judge:
▪ Serves as a referee between the prosecution and the defense
▪ Rules on motions, procedures, and the admissibility of evidence
▪ Instructs the jury before deliberation

▪ Prosecution:
▪ Must prove the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt

▪ Defence:
▪ Must prove the prosecution does not have enough evidence to
prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
 Roles in a Mock Trial
▪ Witness
▪ Testifies on behalf of the prosecution or the defense
▪ May be an expert in a field of study
▪ Presents the facts of a case as personally experienced or known

▪ Bailiff
▪ Performs ceremonial duties such as calling the court to order

▪ Jury
▪ A panel of 6 or 12 members of the community
▪ Their job is to determine if enough evidence exists to convict the
defendant of the crime charged
 How to Prepare for a Mock Trial?
▪ Case materials distributed

▪ All persons involved should read the case in its entirety

▪ Roles assigned

▪ Case materials prepared

▪ Join the prosecution or the defense teams- prepare skeleton
argument for prosecution and defense
▪ Develop (examination – in- chief) questions for each witness
▪ Develop (Cross examination) questions for each witness
▪ Become familiar with all of the witness statements
▪ Determine the best method for cross-examination of the
witness(es) on the opposing side
 Mock Trial Procedures
You and the Law

There are 2 sides:

▪ Prosecution:
▪ Responsible for proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the
accused committed the crime.

▪ Defence:
▪ Responsible for finding their client not guilty for the crime they are
being charged with.
 Burden of proof!

• Reasonable Doubt
• The prosecution has a burden.
• Their job is harder than the defense.
• The burden is called, “Beyond a reasonable doubt.”

• Therefore, the defense just has to create doubt!

 So how do they do it?
• Opening Statements
• Prosecution goes first.
• Defense goes second.
• Why do you think the Prosecution gets/has to go first?
• The trial
• Examination-in-chief
• Cross examinations

• Closing Statements
• Prosecution, then defense
• Rebuttal by Prosecution. (offering a contrary argument)
• Why do they get a rebuttal?
 Opening Statements

• Imagine a movie preview.

• Always phrased, “We are going to show you that…” or “We will
prove that” or “You are going to see…”

• Give the jury an idea of what is coming.

• Never phrase it, “We already showed you”, or “This person did
this…”
 Steps to an Opening
1. Introduce yourself. Make sure the judge and jury know your name. Also introduce your client
and any other counsel on your side.

2. Tell your story. Let the judge and jury know why you are there. Give a brief rundown of your
argument and what you plan to prove. As you speak, maintain open, positive body language,
and smile where appropriate.

3. Begin the bonding process. Make ties with the jury. Look each member in the eye and try to
identify with him. The judge and jury need to feel comfortable with you to believe what you say
over the course of the trial.

4. Present an overview of any witnesses and evidence you will present during the case.

5. Be honest and up front. Admit negative facts about your client that are likely to come out during
the trial, and tell the jury why they should look past that. Negative facts always sound better
when you bring them to light yourself.

6. Tell the jury what you want its verdict to be. Be sure to sound confident and sincere.
 Requirements for the Opening
▪ 3 minutes in length

▪ Summarize what the court will be hearing today.

▪ You are the thesis. You have to tell your audience what the trial is
about, why we are here today, and what your group will prove by the
end.

▪ You should be powerful and persuasive in your speaking!

▪ You can use a notecard during the mock trial.

 What is Closing?
▪ Sample Closing Statement
“Your Honour, members of the jury, today I am representing
_____________________ in this case and have intended to prove (charge or
defense) _________________________________________.
▪ Let me remind you of the key facts of this case presented in court today:
-restate the major issue, impact, effects and perspective of the topic
-restate main arguments
▪ Today you have also heard from my witness, __________________ which I
believe has left no doubt in your mind of the _________________(guilt /
innocence) of the defendant.
--highlight all the major evidence used to prove arguments as well as witness
testimony
-restate the major challenges to oppositions arguments / evidence
▪ Please find the defendant, _________________________________ (guilty / not
guilty).
-end with a quote / statistic or powerful statement
 Requirements for the Closing
▪ 3 minutes in length
▪ Summarize what your group has proven during the
trial today.
▪ You are the conclusion. You have to wrap up all the
pieces of the trial. The opening, the examination-in-
chief, and the cross-examinations are all important
parts to reiterate during your closing.
▪ You have to be persuasive and knowledgeable in
your presentation.
▪ You can use a notecard during the trial.
 What is Examination-in-Chief?
▪ Examination-in-Chief means that you are calling a witness that you believe has
important evidence to help your side. Because you are calling the witness, the
witness is considered "friendly" to your side (whether or not your client actually
has a friendly relationship with the witness).

▪ When you examine a witness during Examination-in-Chief, your questions must

be open-ended in nature. No leading of the witness is allowed! In other words,
your questions should not suggest a specific response. Failure to observe this
rule will permit opposing counsel to object to your line of questioning.

▪ Some examples of acceptable Examination-in-Chief questions are:

"So, what did you do next?"
“Did you hear anything?"
"What did you see as you were walking down the street?"
 Tips for creating a great Examination-in-Chief
▪ Make Sure Your Witness is Prepared
▪ A witness needs to know his or her mock trial witness character inside and out. When you
rehearse, quiz them on all the facts about the character. Understand how and why the
characters did and said what they did.

▪ Don’t Attempt to Memorize the Examination-in-Chief

▪ While it is proper to prepare a list of questions or make an outline, you don’t want to entirely
script the examination-in-chief

▪ Coordinate with the Attorney that is Doing the Closing and Opening
▪ It is important that you discuss your examination-in-chief with your classmate that is doing the
closing argument. You need to establish certain facts that he or she wants to use during their
closing or opening argument.

▪ Tell the story

▪ Pretend like your audience has never read the book.
▪ Introduce the characters.
▪ Please introduce yourself to the court
▪ Why are you here today?
▪ What happened on this particular day/time?
Requirement for Examination-in-Chief

▪ Maximum of 5 minutes

▪ You must ask questions that show the jury who your witness is.
▪ What is your name?
▪ Where are you from?
▪ Why are you here today?
▪ What happened to you on…?

▪ The jury doesn’t know the story, unless you share the story through your
questions.
 What is Cross-Examination?
▪ Cross-examination is when the opposing counsel has just completed an
examination-in-chief of one of their own friendly witnesses, and you wish to
obtain more details, or possibly discredit what has been said.

▪ Because it is understood that the witness is "unfriendly" (not trying to help your
side), you are allowed to lead the witness by asking questions that suggest a
specific answer.

▪ (Often, it is helpful to try to phrase your questions so that the witness only needs
to answer "yes" or "no.") However, the questions should deal only with the
issues brought up during the examination-in-chief.

▪ The goal here is to be able to point out some flaws in the opposing team's
construction of arguments and to weaken the credibility of the witness (without
intimidation).
 Tips for a Great Cross Examination

▪ Leading Questions (attorney is telling the story)

▪ Yes/ No answers

▪ Witnesses should try to say more if the question is open ended.

▪ Have a list of topics that you would like to ask about, but don’t draft out
the order or the exact questions. Let their responses lead you to what
reasonably comes next.
 Requirements for Cross-examination

▪ 2 minutes

▪ Your goal is to ask questions that stump the witness and in turn make
your opposition look bad.

▪ At the end of the cross-examination, you should have made your side
look better because of your questions.

▪ Keep in mind that you cannot attack the opposition or the witness. You
have to ask valid questions that show what your opposition is trying to
hide.
 Examination Examples

• Examination-in-chief:

• Example of what’s right:

• Tell us where you were on the night of… or What happened after
you went to your locker? Then what did you do?

• Example of what’s wrong:

• Isn’t it true that you loaded the gun the night before you killed
your husband?

• The witness has to tell the entire story.

• The attorney may not “Lead” the witness in any way/shape/form
to the answer.
• Rule of thumb: If the answer is yes/no, then you cannot ask
the question in Examination-in-Chief
 Examinations Examples
• Cross Examination:

• This is a hostile examination. One side’s attorney against the other side’s
witness.
• They are from opposite teams.

• After the examination-in-chief, the witness stays on the stand, and the cross-
examiner approaches.
• Control the witness!!! Always ask them to answer all questions with a
yes/no unless asked otherwise.
• Examples of what is okay: almost anything!
As long as you are controlling the witness, leading and non-leading
questions are OK.
 Students’ Responsibilities/Commitments
▪ Read all supporting documents you will have access to it
▪ Advocacy Handbook
▪ Student Mooting Handbook
▪ Mock Trial Case Documents
▪ Mock Trial FAQ’s Documents
▪ Read it carefully
▪ Prepare your Skeleton Argument for both sides
▪ A criminal skeleton is available at page 16 of the student mooting
handbook.
▪ Work in a team
▪ Practice makes perfect
▪ Watch as many Criminal Mock Trial videos as you can
▪ Prepare for the rehearsal session
▪ Submit your Skeleton Arguments on 16th March
▪ Get ready to perform before Judge Dight County Court at Central London
 Mock Trial Day 22nd March
▪ Skeleton arguments:
These are created by the students on prosecution and defence for each mock trial. They should be sent to me no later
than 1-2 days prior.

Roles and timing:

In addition to prosecution, defence, witnesses and the jury, it is important a clerk role is filled by a student with
knowledge of the timings so we do not go over time. Ideally the trial will last from 5:00-5:45PM, with 15 minutes for
feedback. We don’t want to go too far past 6PM. I believe 5 minutes for each statement and (cross)examination is
sufficient

An agreed ‘knocking’ system works best. The clerk keeps a stopwatch going, knocking the desk at 1 minute, and
knocking twice when the counsel’s time has expired.

Backup roles:
A small selection of jurors should be prepared to be backup witnesses if anyone in those roles drop out at short notice
(it happens!)
▪
MOCK TRIAL DAY:

Dress code: Business dress. We have a limited supply of spare robes but these are not a requirement.
Entrance: RCJ West Green entrance. This is because the RCJ main entrance is closed at 4:30PM
when we’ll be meeting. The West Green entrance is the gated entrance to the left of the main
entrance on the Strand, as shown by the arrow below:
The City Law School
City, University of London
Northampton Square
London
EC1V 0HB
United Kingdom

T: +44 (0)20 7040 5060

E: [email protected]
www.city.ac.uk/department