Year 11 Legal Studies

Mock Trials – Year 11 Legal Studies

Earlier this term, Ms Holliday’s Year 11 Legal Studies class participated in mock trials as part of their area of study on Civil Law.

Students were divided between two trials, and each student needed to fulfil a role on their team.  These roles consisted of barristers, solicitors and witnesses for both the defence and the prosecution.

One trial was to decide the case of an injured BMX rider, suing his local council for not maintaining a safe riding track.  The other trial involved an underage driver, driving the family car down the driveway and hitting his sister.

Students needed to determine how best to represent their case, and neutralise the arguments of their opposition.  They also needed to determine two witnesses to support their case, and the information they needed to present.

During each trial, the other students were the jury.  This gave them an insight into the difficulties of getting 12 people to agree to a decision after having listened to the same evidence.

The class is looking forward to participating in criminal mock trials later next term.

Andrea Holliday

Year 11 Legal Studies Teacher