Teams will receive a comprehensive competition manual detailing the rules, procedures, deadlines and skills assessed in each mock trial. The mock trial is a competition where young people work with lawyers in their community to develop an understanding of real-life jurisprudence and the role of the justice system in a democratic society. National mock trial teams are composed of a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve official members. [15] State mock trial teams may vary in size; California, for example, allows up to 25 official team members. [16] Each team prepares both parts of the case: indictment/plaintiff and defense in criminal proceedings, plaintiff and defense in civil action. Each game is composed of two or three lawyers as well as two or three witnesses, all played by members of the team. Teams must be organized into two teams of five to six players for the prosecution/plaintiff and defense. [17] [18] It is important to note that high school mock trials are regulated by state bar associations, meaning that cases, rules, and competitive structure vary from state to state, while all college mock trials are regulated by the American Mock Trial Association, meaning that each school uses the same case and is subject to the same rules. In addition, a university may require one or more trial courses as a prerequisite for graduation; These universities include Baylor Law School, whose third-year courses in judicial practice are mandatory for all students and have been held since the school reopened in the 1920s. In some competitions, points may be deducted from a team`s score if they testify with information outside the scope of the mock test material, and for unsportsmanlike conduct or abuse of objections.
However, the score is entirely at the discretion of a judge, meaning that scores are subjective based on various evaluation criteria. The Magistrates Association of England and Wales is organising a mock competition for middle and secondary school children, the main objective of which is to promote confidence in public speaking and introduce young people to the justice system. Competitive simulated test characteristics in annual cycles. Each year, from late summer to early fall, a case kit is distributed to all participating schools. The set of records includes a number of documents, including charges, the Criminal Code, regulations, jurisdiction and jury instructions, as well as all evidence relevant to the case and affidavits. During a mock trial, participants are limited only to the documents included in the file and are not allowed to refer to external sources. To prepare for the competition, teams carefully read and analyze the case file. There are several ways to evaluate a show trial. In one, the judges responsible for evaluating the show trial are the president of the court and two evaluating judges, who evaluate all the teams. In a second method, there are two judges and the presiding judge, as in the first method, but the presiding judge does not evaluate the teams, but the judge simply votes or votes for one or the other team. [17] In another method of evaluation, there are three judges and the presiding judge is not involved in the evaluation of the teams.
Often, university invitations have two grading judges, one of whom is also the presiding judge. Since it is notoriously difficult to get lawyers to become judges (since judges are rarely paid with more than one free meal), it is rare to see more than two judges in a round in most competitions. The show trial begins with the judge`s entry into the courtroom. The judge then gives instructions to the jury (on what to hear). If there is then a pre-trial application, the defence and prosecution present their respective pre-trial arguments. The judge then asks the prosecution or applicant to make an opening statement. After the opening statement of the prosecution/plaintiff, the judge may propose to the defense to make the opening statement during this time or to wait until the prosecution has presented all its witnesses. After opening statements, the questioning of witnesses begins.
The prosecutor/applicant first calls his witnesses. Witnesses take an oath by the bailiff/timekeeper of their team. A competing student Crown lawyer/complainant conducts a direct examination of the witness. Once the direct examination is completed, the opposing team may cross-examine the witness. After cross-examination, the first team, if they wish, may divert the witness. Similarly, the other team can perform a re-intersection after a redirect. However, redirection and cross-referencing examinations are limited only to the scope of the previous verification carried out by opposing defenders. This process is repeated for the applicants` remaining two witnesses. Once the prosecution/complainant is done with its witnesses, the defence may make its opening statement if it has not been made before, and then the trial is repeated with the defence witnesses, with defence lawyers being direct and the plaintiffs` lawyers being cross-examined. [17] Social media and forums allowed competitors to communicate and exchange information and opinions.
Some mock trial teams have created forums on Facebook,[60][61] and parodies of characters from different cases have found their way onto Facebook with their own profiles. [62] [63] Two former students of mock trials, Ben Garmoe and Drew Evans, created a podcast on the subject called The Mock Review. The American Mock Trial Association has a Twitter feed that provides updates on tournament procedures and results. [64] Our mock trial program can be held in a civic credit classroom, as an after-school club, community centre, or local group Y or youth program. For more information on how to participate and register as the Y`s mock trial team, contact Emily Lake at elake@seattleymca.org. Another format is to follow the similar standard format at the secondary level, but with fewer technical limitations. All teams receive the same material on a box and prepare for the competition. Two teams compete in a live mock trial to represent both sides of the case. This format is used in the New Hampshire Bar Association`s Moot Court Contest.
However, the first round of the competition is done by video submission, with each team appearing on both sides of the case. Qualified teams will be invited to the live competition, with each team on either side of the case. [25] The most productive presence of university moot trials on the Internet has been the Perjures Web Forum,[2] the national online moot litigation community. In case of perjury, mock trial participants, coaches and alumni could create user accounts and discuss a wide range of related topics. The site had about 5,000 registered users, 2,000 chats, and 88,000 messages. [65] The forum of perjury no longer exists. Many of the forum`s posts have been archived on the replacement Impeachments website. Mock trials in continental Europe are less coordinated than their British or American counterparts, but there are a few isolated examples. In Germany, the Faculty of Law of the University of Regensburg is organizing the REGINA mock trial.
[8] The University of Erlangen-Nuremberg organised a show trial specialising in administrative law. [9] In Spain, there is a mock trial program specialized in insurance law coordinated by the Chair of Risk Management and Insurance of the Fundacion INADE-UDC. [10] Since 2018,[57] Trial by Combat (TBC) has existed as a mock trial competition adjacent to the AMTA.