Hints on How to Prepare for a Mock Trial

The following tips have been developed from previous experiences in training a mock trial team.
All students should read the entire set of materials and discuss the information/procedures and rules used in the Mock Trial Program.
The facts of the case, witnesses' testimony, and the points for each side in the case then should be examined and discussed. Key information should be listed on the chalkboard as discussion proceeds so that it can be referred to at some later time.
Even though a team has to represent only one side in the case during any single trial, all roles in the case should be assigned and practiced. This will help in practicing the case as well as in preparing for future trials.
Schools should designate alternates for both students and teacher-coaches in order to be prepared for unexpected illness or absence.
The credibility of the witnesses is very important to a team's presentation of its case. Experience has shown that close decisions in the trial enactments often hinge on individual's differences in witness performance. Therefore, students acting as witnesses really need to "get into" their roles and attempt to think like the persons they are playing. Students who are witnesses should read over their statements (affidavits) many times and have other members of the team or their class ask them questions about the facts until they know them cold.
Teams should allow their students to prepare their own questions, with the teacher-coach and attorney-coach giving the team continual feedback and assistance on the assignment as it is completed. Based on the experience of these practice sessions, attorneys should revise their questions and witnesses should restudy the arts of their witness statements where they are weak.
Opening statements also should be prepared by team members. Legal and/or non-legal language should be avoided where its meaning is not completely understood by attorneys and witnesses. #p#分页标题#e#
Closing arguments should not be totally composed before trial, since they are supposed to highlight the important developments for the plaintiff/prosecution and the defense which have occurred during the trial. The more relaxed and informal such statements are, the more effective they are likely to be. Students should be prepared for interruptions by judges who like to question the attorneys, especially during closing arguments.
As a team approaches the date of its first trial, it is required that the team conduct at least one complete trial as a kind of dress rehearsal. All formalities should be followed and notes taken by the teacher-coach and students concerning how the team's presentation might be improved. A team's attorney-coach should be invited to attend this session and comment on the enactment.
The ability of a team to adapt to different situations is often a key component in a mock trial enactment, since each judge or lawyer acting as a judge has his/her own way of doing things. Because the proceedings or conduct of the trial often depend on no small part on the judge who presides, student attorneys and other team members should be prepared to adapt to judicial rulings and requests.

Strategies for Teaching about Mock Trial Procedures
Have students brainstorm the order of events in a mock trial and list them on one side of the blackboard. On the other side of the board, list the steps in a mock trial as they actually occur, noting any errors or omissions in the students' list as you do so.
Once the whole trial process has been introduced, have students make a list or brainstorm and write on the board the steps in a trial, first from the plaintiff/prosecution's point of view, (e.g., opening statement, direct examination of P/P's witnesses, cross-examination of defense witnesses and closing arguments). Do the same from the defense perspective.
Have students check newspapers and magazines for articles that mention a trial that is currently being conducted. Paste the articles to a large sheet of paper with the trial step that is mentioned in the article written in large letters at the top of the sheet. Have students post these around the classroom in their proper order. #p#分页标题#e#
Have students become familiar with the steps in a trial, the physical layout of a courtroom and the participants in a trial.
A courtroom visit is a good idea at this point (or after the group has begun working on the trial). Hold a debriefing session during the class period following the visit and/or have students write: What part(s) of the trial did you observe? What happened before the part(s) you observed? What happened in the trial after your left? List these on the board with the step of the trial that your group observed in the middle, and the "before" and "after" lists on either side.
Students should be instructed to watch a television program or see a movie having to do with a trial. Then they can discuss what the case was about, what parts of the trial they observed and whether the depiction of the trial procedure was accurate and realistic.
Invite a trial attorney or judge to the class to review basic trial procedure and describe different types of litigation, such as arbitration hearings, worker's compensation hearings, school board hearings and juvenile proceedings. Have the students discuss how and why do they differ from the basic civil and criminal trial procedure.
After general trial procedure has been covered in class, distribute the mock trial materials that you plan to use and have the students read them thoroughly. At this point you can either assign the roles of the various trial participants or wait until you have covered the rules of evidence. (This also helps ensure that students will read all of the trial materials, instead of just reading those for their parts or sides of the case.)