Witness

Old Man
Scenario

You live in the apartment downstairs from where the incident took place.
You are 75 years old and live by yourself. About a year and a half ago you
suffered a stroke which left your left leg partially paralyzed which makes it
difficult to get around. On the night of the incident you were in bed when
you heard an argument break out. The L train was passing by which makes
a lot of noise but you were still able to make out most of the conversation
both through the floor and out of your open window and the open window of
the apartment above you. You testified to the detective that you heard the
accused yell Im going to kill you!, (In reality the noise of the L train
made it impossible to tell for sure who it was but you have heard them fight
before and are sure that it was him.) After the yelling you heard a loud
thump on the floor one second later like a body falling to the ground. You
got out of bed and went to the apartment as fast as you could, about 50 feet
away and up a flight of stairs. You told detectives that it took you about 15
seconds to get there but in reality it was closer to about 45 seconds to a
minute because your left leg makes it painful and difficult to move too
quickly and you were embarrassed to tell them how slowly it took you to
move. You again told the investigators that when you reached the apartment
that you found the boys father dead on the floor with the knife in his chest
and you could see the boy out of the window of the apartment running away
from the apartment. (In truth you could see someone running away but it
was dark and you couldnt know for certain.)

Notes:
When you are called to the stand make sure that you emphasize the
paralysis in your left leg in order to show how long it takes you to actually
move around. Remember that in court you are under oath and are required
to be absolutely honest or face charges of your own.
 The Accused

Scenario

You are a 17 year old youth who stands 57 who has had a long history of
trouble with the law. You were born in the slums and grew up very poor;
when you were 9 your mother passed away leaving your father to raise you.
Since you were 5 your father has physically abused you, being hit has been a
way of life for you almost all of your life. You lived in an orphanage for a
year and a half while your father served a sentence in jail for forgery. When
you were 10 you had your first criminal charge for throwing a rock at a
teacher, when you were 15 you stole a car and in the past couple years you
have been involved in a couple of knife fights. On the night of the incident
you told the police that you had been in a fight with your father at about
8:00 p.m., he hit you a couple of times and you left running out of the house.
You stopped by a pawn shop and bought a switchblade and met up with your
buddies to hang out and you showed them the knife. They left at about 9:45
and you decided that you would stay away from home for awhile longer so
you walked around and then went to a movie at about 11:10, you stayed for
the double feature and returned home at about 3:10 when you found the
police waiting for you and your father dead with a knife that looked just like
yours in his chest. You told police that the knife must have fallen out of a
hole in your pocket and someone else must have picked it up.

Notes: Throughout the trial you are to continue claiming that you are
innocent whenever you are asked and that you did in fact go to the movies
even though you cant remember what picture it was or what actors were in
it.
 Witness
Woman across the street.
Scenario:

While lying in bed unable to sleep you heard an incident coming from
across the narrow alley. (30 feet) As you looked across the alley you saw
the killing take place through the windows of the passing L train and
through the open window of the accused apartment. The L train takes
about 15 seconds to pass that has 7 cars. With no one in the train and the
interior lights on you can see through the car windows fairly well. You
told investigators that you saw the killing through the last 2 cars of the
train meaning that the train had been roaring by for about 12 seconds
prior to the killing itself. You told investigators that you saw the boy
raise the knife and strike the father in a downward motion and stab the
father. You screamed and the lights went off immediately after. You
called 911 immediately and waited for the police to show up. You have
lived by this family for years and knew them fairly well. Unfortunately
you had been lying in bed and you had taken off your glasses but since
you had witnessed violence in the home before you were positive that it
was the boy even though in reality you couldnt be certain based on this
incidence, although you intentionally didnt tell the detective that because
you are embarrassed about how the glasses make you look. You are very
concerned about your looks and your age, you dress and do your make up
in such a way as to try and make yourself look younger.

Notes: You are about 45 years old and not happy about getting older. In
order to try and look younger you are wearing clothes that are meant for
people about 10 years younger than you and you use a lot of makeup to
try and cover up the age lines on your face. Please dress somewhat
flamboyant during court. In court please make sure to wear your
glasses up to the stand and then take them off for everyone to see.
 Witness
Accused friend.

Scenario:

You met up with the accused at around 8:45 and noticed that he was very
agitated. You hung out for about an hour and while you were together you
learned that his father had hit him again. Recently you have noticed that he
has been more and more determined to figure out a way to make the beatings
stop but he has never mentioned anything about a plan or any intent to harm
his father. You have heard some of the other kids at school say that they
thought he was going to do something crazy soon. While you were together
he did show you the knife that he bought at the junk shop and you spent
some time talking about some of the knife fights that you have been
involved in. Some of the conversation was about the techniques involved in
using a switchblade. In fact both you and the accused have been involved in
some knife fights and you are somewhat of an expert in using them.

Notes: If asked about how a switchblade is used make sure to point out that
it is flipped out using the button and then mimic a stabbing motion that goes
in an upward motion as it is the fastest way to stab someone.
 Arresting Officer
Scenario:

You have been working as a detective in this crime infested area for 25
years. You have developed a serious bias against the seemingly endless
number of youth criminals in the area and think that the courts are too
soft on crime. When you were called in to this case you decided almost
immediately that the kid was guilty just like every other crime scene that
you have been to. When getting statements from witnesses you basically
just got their statements and moved on without asking any other
questions or looking into any other possibilities because you have seen
this boy at the courthouse before and are assuming that he is guilty. You
did however follow protocol when it came to the crime scene and noticed
that when you dusted the knife for prints that you couldnt any. The knife
wound itself was inflicted in a downward striking motion right through
the victims heart.

Notes: When questioned please show as much bias against punk kids
in general as you can within reason.
 Expert Testimony
Forensics Expert
Scenario:

You were called in to the crime scene to look over the crime scene and to
inspect the body. Based on the temperature of the body you can confirm
that the death took place at approximately 12:00. While you were not
required to comment on the knife wound you noticed that given the
nature of the wound that it was either inflicted by someone
approximately the same height of the victim or by someone who had
jumped toward him. As well when you processed the scene you
discovered that there were no identifiable finger prints on the knife.

Notes: Make sure to come across as a real know it all in court and to
dress appropriately to match. (scientific looking)
 Defence Lawyers
Roles:

Your job is to find a way to convince both the Judge and the Jury that
the accused is in fact innocent. You will have the opportunity to read the
statements of all of the witnesses and to eventually question them in court.
Prior to the day of the court you will have 1 class to develop questions that
you will ask the witnesses. Be careful to be able to adjust questioning
during trial as things develop or as you notice certain things!! Be
diligent to find anyway to disprove any statements made by those who want
to show his guilt or to discredit their ability to give accurate information.
Use any information by the accused, his friend or the forensics officer to
help prove your case. Your mark will depend on how well your line of
questioning is done. Remember the guiding principles to follow in a
criminal trial. There is no rule that says that you cant try to get away with a
line of questioning that may break one of them as it is the Prosecutors
obligation to call you on it, if they dont and you get away with it then you
are that much ahead.
You will also be required to make an opening statement that is
approximately 2 minutes in length (make sure to time it previously) that
outlines why your defendant should be found innocent as well as a closing
statement that will help convince the judge and jury of his innocence. Again
approximately 2 minutes in length.
 Prosecuting Lawyers
Roles:

Your job is to find a way to convince both the Judge and the Jury that
the accused is in fact guilty. You will have the opportunity to read the
statements of all of the witnesses and to eventually question them in court.
Prior to the day of the court you will have 1 class to develop questions that
you will ask the witnesses. Be careful to be able to adjust questioning
during trial as things develop or as you notice certain things!! Be
diligent to help them illustrate the reasons why the accused is guilty and to
disprove anything the accused or those who want to help him say. Your
mark will depend on how well your line of questioning is done. Remember
the guiding principles to follow in a criminal trial. There is no rule that says
that you cant try to get away with a line of questioning that may break one
of them as it is the Defence teams obligation to call you on it, if they dont
and you get away with it then you are that much ahead.
You will also be required to make an opening statement that is
approximately 2 minutes in length (make sure to time it previously) that
outlines why your defendant should be found innocent as well as a closing
statement that will help convince the judge and jury of his innocence. Again
approximately 2 minutes in length.
 Judges
You are serving on a council of judges. Your job is to make sure that the
rules of the court are being followed, to listen to the evidence that comes
before you and to evaluate it without bias. The oldest person in the
council will serve as the chief judge. If there are any objections brought
before the court you will decide as a group if it will be upheld or if the
questions will be allowed. You will need to refer to the principles of the
court to make these decisions. In the end you will have to decide
(individually) whether or not the accused is innocent or guilty along with
the appropriate sentence to go along with it. This is a case where the
accused is being charged with 1st degree murder and is being charged as
an adult. However, for our intents and purposes you will have the ability
to be creative with your sentences but you will be required to explain
why you decided on the judgment that you did.

After the bailiff introduces you to the court you will instruct people to be
seated. You will have the opportunity to give a brief synopsis of the case
and then instruct the bailiff to swear in the jury.

You are in charge of calling up and dismissing witnesses upon the

request of the lawyers as well as instructing the jury should there be an
instance where testimony should be struck down that they are not to take
it into consideration. You will instruct the jury to begin their
deliberations and you will read out the verdict that they come up with
before the head jury member reads it out. You will ask them,
Has the jury reached a verdict?
What say you?
Do you have any recommendations for sentencing?

After your own deliberations you will then either release the accused or
issue sentencing.

Notes: Try to look the part of the judge.

 Bailiff
Your role is to insure that the court remains orderly and that the rules and
expectations of the court are being maintained at all times. You will
introduce the judges using the following wording:

1. Bailiff opens court

Bailiff: All rise. The court of the Honorable Judge _______ is
now in session.

2. Swearing in of the Jury

Judge: Do you swear or affirm that you will consider all the
evidence in this case, follow the instructions given to you,
deliberate fairly and impartially and reach a fair verdict?

You to swear in the witnesses as they are called using the following
wording.

Holding one hand on the Social Studies Textbook and the other raised
ask:

Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
truth?

You are to also handle any physical evidence as directed by the chief
judge as well as to fulfill any other requests pertaining to the trial of the
judges.
 Jury Members
As members of the jury you are to attempt to keep your own biases from
clouding your judgment as you listen to the evidence that is presented
throughout the trial. It is crucial that you are attentive and that you
consider the evidence that each witness presents not only in isolation but
also in the bigger picture when all of the evidence is presented. Or in
other words you are to trying to put all of the puzzle pieces together as
they unfold during the trial. During deliberations it is your duty to
express what you feel the verdict should be along with why. You will be
given an opportunity to explain your position along with your reasons.
You will be expected to listen to the positions of the others and then to
both consider their positions and to convince others of what you think
should happen. Once you have decided your verdict, if its guilty you are
required to give recommendations to the council of judges on what you
think the appropriate consequences are and why.

Notes: Jury members are taken from the community. As part of your
mark you are to dress up as a random member of the community, i.e.
accountant mechanic doctor etc.