Mock Trials

In one line

A mock trial is a simulated court hearing in which students take every role and conduct a case from opening to judgment, and its purpose is to teach a law student to speak, listen and answer under pressure.

In the wording a student can write in an examination: a mock trial is an exercise in which students conduct a complete simulated trial of a hypothetical case, taking the parts of judge, counsel, witnesses and court staff, in order to acquire the skills of examination, argument and courtroom communication.

Mock trial and moot court: the distinction that is always asked

They are not the same thing, and confusing them is the commonest error on this topic.

The sentence to use. A mock trial asks what happened; a moot asks what the law is.

The roles

The judge or bench. Presides, rules on objections, controls the hearing and delivers judgment. In a student exercise the judge is often a member of the faculty or a practising advocate.

Counsel for the prosecution or plaintiff. Opens the case, leads evidence, cross-examines the other side's witnesses, and makes the closing argument.

Counsel for the defence or defendant. The same functions on the other side.

Witnesses. Students playing the parts of witnesses, who must learn a witness statement and answer questions in character, including questions they were not expecting.

The accused or the parties. Present, and in a criminal simulation the accused may or may not give evidence.

Court staff. The clerk, who calls the case and administers the oath, and the stenographer or recorder.

Observers and assessors, who take notes and give feedback afterwards, which is the part of the exercise that produces the learning.

The stages of a mock trial

Learn this order; a question asking how a mock trial is conducted is asking for it.

1. The case file is circulated: the facts, the charge or claim, and the witness statements.
2. Preparation: each side settles its theory of the case, decides which witnesses to call, prepares questions, and anticipates the other side's.
3. The court assembles; the clerk calls the case; appearances are announced.
4. Opening statement by the prosecution or plaintiff, then by the defence.
5. Examination-in-chief of the first side's witnesses, followed by cross-examination, and re-examination if permitted.
6. The other side's evidence, in the same order.
7. Closing arguments, defence and prosecution in the order the exercise sets.
8. Judgment, delivered with reasons.
9. Feedback, in which the bench and the assessors say what was done well and badly. Skipping this stage wastes the exercise.