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Law 12 Mock Trial: Round One

5 December 2016
Cara A, Mackenzie ‘17; Photo by Virginia W, Mackenzie '18
Christmas arrived a month early for Brentwood’s Law 12 students when Mr. Bryant announced that we would be doing a mock law trial as our first large assessment. With research, reading, and acting involved, the mock trial portion of the Law 12 class was a main attraction for most of this year’s students.  This year’s Law 12 class is the largest of Mr. Bryant’s Brentwood career, with nearly double the number of last year. Because of this, there had to be two courtrooms established. The students would be split up into two courtrooms of 12 people: with two students as lawyers, one as a judge, and the rest as witnesses. The jury consisted of Brentwood icons such as Mr. Felix and community members from Mill Bay and Cobble Hill. The first mock case was a murder with all of the fictional lawyers and witnesses played by Law 12 students: 21 year old Michael Hudson was accused of killing his mother-in-law and attempting to murder his father-in-law. With a long history of sleepwalking issues, Michael and the defense team believe that he was sleepwalking during the attack. The Crown, however, begged to differ. What the Crown did not know was that the defense lawyers (Ender M, Whittall ‘17, Madison P, Mackenzie ‘17, Griffin C-A, Rogers ‘17, and Iyanu S, Alexandra ‘17) had found a hole in the case. The day before the trial, the four students discovered that Michael had not been read his rights, and, as a result, the testimony of the police officer who arrested him would have to be voided.  After their discovery, the lawyers worked tirelessly in the library. With one lawyer sick and only 24 hours to go before the trial, Ender, Griffin, Iyanu, and Madison (via Skype) dove into a mad frenzy of caffeine, legalities, and five minute naps. When the defense lawyers revealed the flaw they found in the case, the whole process of the Mock Trial was thrown into a loop. Since such a discovery was not anticipated, each courtroom got off track and ended up having to take a short recess. Surprisingly, the two courtrooms had the opposite reaction to the defense’s discovery. One duo of defense lawyers succeeded, while the other found more trouble in getting the issue past the Crown lawyers. Iron Ladies Gemma E, Alexandra ‘17 and Sarah F, ‘Mackenzie 17 were able to deflect the blow and have the police officer’s testimony allowed. After each courtroom settled down, the trial continued with the calling of more witnesses. A wide range of civilians, from victims of the attack, to neurophysiologists, were called to the stand. After two hours of listening to the testimonies of the Crown’s witnesses, the defense’s witnesses, and Michael Hudson himself, the jury presented their consensus to each judge. In one courtroom, Michael Hudson was found guilty of only manslaughter, while in the other courtroom, he was found not guilty. The difference between the outcomes and the processes of each courtroom was an unexpected first in Law 12. A big thank you to Mr. Bryant, the jury volunteers, and everyone who came to watch for supporting the students and helping the trials run smoothly. This mock trial was an arduous yet enjoyable way to kick off the school year, and we cannot wait to show off what we’ve learned during next term’s mock trial! Cara A, Mackenzie ‘17

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