Mock Trial: Civil Case
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Mock Trial: Civil Case (50 points) General Directions & Background
Plaintiff’s claims in civil case: severe emotional distress (intentional tort) caused by bullying
Roles:
Attorneys: o Opening Statement – 2 per side o Trial – 4 per side o Closing – 2 per side Witnesses – 4 per side o Witnesses for the Plaintiff: . Alex Billings, Plaintiff . Francis Billings, Plaintiff’s Parent . Dr. Marquez, School Psychologist . John/Jane Jones, Case Law Expert (see pp. 35-36) o Witnesses for the Defense: . C.J. Pearson, high school student . Justin/Justine Cook, School Counselor . Brendan/Brenda Li, School Principal . James/Jill Smith, Case Law Expert (see pp. 35-36) Jury – 5-10 people
Grading/Assessment: Case Background Questions: 10 points Preparation Sheet (or packet for jury members): 20 points Presentation (or packet for jury members): 20 points
Summary of Plaintiff’s Claims:
Pearson sent harassing text messages to Billings and derogatory postings on MyFace, which constitutes bullying as defined by the high-school district’s Anti-Bullying Policy. The bullying caused extreme emotional distress, and the high-school’s administration failed to adequately respond to the events.
Summary of Defendant’s Defenses:
Joint Defenses (Pearson and the High School District): Pearson’s text messages and MyFace postings do not constitute bullying as defined by school policy and do not rise to the level of “extreme and outrageous conduct.” Any emotional distress was caused by other factors.
School District’s Defenses: Billings did not adequately report bullying to school officials, and the administration did respond adequately to the bullying report.
Summary of Relief (Damages) Requested:
$75,000 to pay for St. Joseph Academy’s tuition and for pain and suffering. The school district should update its Anti-bullying Policy to include cyber-bullying, and a fund should be set up for bullying prevention training. Summary of Witnesses and Evidence
Alex Billings: Alex is a 14 year old ninth grader at St. Joseph Academy; she spent the first half of her freshman year at King High School. Alex became friends with CJ Pearson during Freshman Orientation, but the relationship soon became strained as CJ allegedly began bullying Alex in class. Alex claims the teachers and administration did nothing to stop the bullying. Alex also claims CJ began to send text messages and MyFace posts that taunted and teased Alex. Alex claimes he/she was afraid to go to school and began staying home from school to play video games. When Alex’s parent found out about the bullying, he/she contacted the school. After a meeting with the Principal, Alex left the school and his/her parent filed a claim against CJ Pearson’s family and King High School.
Francis Billings: Francis is the parent of Alex Billings. He/she is a single parent with four children and works as a manager at a grocery store. Noticing that Alex was spending a lot of time playing video games and that his/her grades were going down, Francis confronted Alex and found out about the bullying. Francis went to the high school to confront Principal Li. After this meeting, Francis pulled Alex out of the school and enrolled him/her at St. Joseph’s Academy.
Gabriel/Gabrielle Rodriguez, PhD: Dr. Rodriguez is the school psychologist at St. Joseph’s Academy. Rodriguez claims that Alex suffered emotional distress and PTSD as a result of the bullying. Rodriguez also believes that King High School does not have an adequate ant-bullying program and that school officials were negligent in dealing with the poor treatment of Alex.
Justin/Justine Cook: Cook is the ninth grade counselor at King High School and was a member of the committee that wrote the school’s policy on bullying. Cook confronted Alex about her poor attendance and grades and learned about the text messages and MyFace posts from CJ. Cook claim that the messages were sent off campus and the administration could do nothing about them. However, Cook said he/she would look into the behavior. He/she gave CJ an informal warning and informed Principal Li of the allegations.
Brendan/Brenda Li: Li is the Principal at King High School. He/she was a member of the committee that wrote the school’s policy on bullying. Upon receiving an email from Cook about the allegations against CJ, she investigated the situation and met with Francis Billings. Li denies that she knew about specific messages or interactions between Alex and CJ and believes the lawsuit is frivolous and that Francis Billings is simply looking to get some money from the school to pay for private school for Alex.
CJ Pearson: CJ is a freshman at King High School who became friends with Alex during Freshman Orientation. CJ admits that he/she and his/her friends made fun of Alex and posted negative messages on MyFace, but he/she claims the behavior was not serious and that Alex is overreacting. CJ believes he/she has a right to free speech and that the school should not be responsible for communications that happened off campus.
Evidence: (found on pp. 37-47 in the packet) Text messages between Alex Billings and CJ Pearson MyFace posts “City Express” article entitled Kids these days! How to understand what your teenager is talking about. King High School’s Ant-Bullying Policy King High School’s Cell Phone Policy Email correspondence between Cook and Li PTSD Diagnostic Test Name: Period: Case Background Questions /10
Read “Stipulated Facts,” “Stipulations of Evidence,” “Claims and Defenses,” and “Relief Requested” (pp. 3-8), as well as the “Summary of Witnesses and Evidence” from your class handout. Answer the questions below.
1) How did Alex Billings and C.J. Pearson become friends? What information did they exchange by the conclusion of the orientation?
2) What happened on the evening of August 27th? How many text messages were exchanged between Billings and Pearson in the month following August 27th?
3) What is the cell phone and MyFace policy at King High School (KHS)?
4) What happened on November 1, 2010? What information did Billings reveal to Cook? How did Cook respond?
5) What information did Cook email to Principal Li on November 10th?
6) What did Francis Billings learn about on December 1, 2010? What did she do next?
7) What happened after Francis Billing’s meeting with Principal Li?
8) Briefly explain how each witness will help the Prosecution’s claims:
Alex Billings:
Fracis Billings:
Dr. Rodriguez:
9) Briefly explain how each witness will help the Defendants’ defenses:
Justin/Justine Cook:
Brendan/Brenda Li:
CJ Pearson:
10) What type of damages/remedy is Billings asking the court to award? Preparation Sheet: Opening Statement
I. Intro: Summarize facts of case, from your side’s perspective.
II. Summarize Claims/Defenses.
III. Summarize how each of your witnesses will help prove your case.
IV. Summarize how the evidence will help prove your case.
V. Conclusion: Wrap up your summary and explain what the preponderance of evidence will show.
Preparation Sheet: Closing Statement I. Remind jury of Claims/Defenses (what they are trying to determine in the case).
II. Review Witness testimony and evidence from your side and explain how it helped prove your case.
III. Review Witness testimony and evidence from other side and point our weaknesses or counterarguments.
IV. Make concluding arguments/Argue what the preponderance of evidence has shown (i.e. “Therefore, we ask the jury to find the defendant liable/not liable because…)
Preparation Sheet: Trial Attorney
Direct Exam Questions:
I. Introduction: two or three questions to introduce witness and provide background.
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II. Explain connection to case: two or three questions to establish what this witness saw/knows about the case.
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III. Explain how this witness helps prove your case: questions to establish how this witness can help prove liability/no liability.
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Cross Exam Questions:
How does the witness help the other side?
Questions to challenge/undermine testimony:
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Preparation Sheet: Witness
Witness Background: Summarize who this witness is, role he/she plays in the case, strengths/weaknesses of his/her testimony. Answers to Questions:
I. Answers to Introduction Questions
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II. Answers to Connection Questions
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III. Answers to Proof Questions
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Help attorney with Cross Exam Questions!
Mock Trial: Civil Case Sign-up Sheet PERIOD:
Attorneys (Plaintiff) Attorneys (Defendant) Opening Statement: Opening Statement:
1) 1)
2) 2)
Closing Statement: Closing Statement:
1) 1)
2) 2)
Trial Attorneys: Trial Attorneys:
1) 1)
2) 2)
3) 3)
4) 4)
Witnesses: Witnesses:
Alex Billings: Justin/Justine Cook:
Francis Billings: Brendan/Brenda Li:
Dr. Rodriguez: CJ Pearson:
John/Jane Jones, Case Law Expert: James/Jill Smith, Case Law Expert:
Jury:
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)