For this activity, you will be using a hypothetical scenario about Chris and Jamie and their legal troubles stemming from an incident involving theft. Chris and Jamie were shopping when Chris convinced Jamie to steal a pair of jeans by wearing them out of the store and putting the shorts she was wearing in her purse. As Chris and Jamie were leaving the mall, they were stopped by security. Because they are both over eighteen, they will be sent through the criminal court system and put through a criminal trial.

Here is where your part comes in; you will be writing a script, or a mock trial, for Chris and Jamie's criminal trial.

Let's take a look at a basic overview of what is expected of you during this activity.

For this activity, you will be responsible for creating:

• Cast of Characters
• Script (1-2 page minimum)
  • Opening arguments
  • Testimony for both sides
  • Closing arguments
• Ruling/Deliberation
  • 1-2 paragraph explanation of the final ruling and how the jury may have deliberated

Use the following step-by-step instruction to help guide you through this task and create an amazing scripted mock trial.

Step 1: Develop/understand the background of the trial and how the trial will flow.

Gain a clear understanding regarding the law that was broken.

• What law was broken? Is the law easy to understand?
• Does the law apply evenly to everyone?

Step 2: Check out some sample mock trial scripts before you begin writing.

By visiting some of the following links, you can read and get a feel for what a mock trial script might look like:

• Texting While Driving
• United States vs. McPherson

Step 3: Create a cast of characters.

• Identify and summarize each of the following individual's role:
  • Plaintiff + Defendant
  • Lawyers
  • Witnesses
  • Judge
  • Jury

Tips:

• In a criminal trial, the sides are labeled Prosecution (the Government) vs. Defense.
• In order to tell the whole story, you will likely want to create a character or two (in addition to the characters already involved in the case) to add to your list of witnesses. For example, to tell Jamie's side of the story, you may want to create a teacher or a mother who can talk about Jamie's character (for the defense) or a customer who witnessed the event and could speak on behalf of the store (for the prosecution).

Step 4: Start writing!

• Opening Statements: Write an opening statement for each side
• Testimonies: Write the testimony for each side using witnesses to prove their case.
  • Here, you will write the dialogue for each side as they call witnesses and try to prove their case. Each side must call at least one witness to the stand for questioning.
  • Make sure to include notes regarding body language such as gestures, verbal tone, and inflection during testimony.
  • You will also want to consider if either side will present any evidence to support their testimonies. If so, you will want to introduce and explore that here.
• Closing Statements: Summarize each side's case in their closing statements.
• Deliberation/Final Ruling: Although you will not need to script the jury deliberation, you will need to decide who won the case and script the judge's announcement of the final ruling.
  • Write 1-2 paragraphs exploring what the conversation may have been while the jury was deliberating. What did they discuss? How did they reach a conclusion?

Writing a script for anythingespecially a mock trialcan be tricky. Just do your best to present a cohesive and substantial argument for both sides of the trial. This means you will need to not only use your creativity skills but also your knowledge and research of the law and courtroom trials.