Justice By the People

Lesson Summary

Lesson 2: History of Conflict Resolution and the Jury System.
This lesson begins with a staged conflict between students.  The teacher suggests resolving the dispute by a kind of "trial by ordeal" using jawbreaker candies and observing whether they stain the accused students' tongues.  Students then explore other methods societies have used historically to resolve conflicts, such as trial by combat or trial by oath.  As students analyze each method, they begin to appreciate how the jury system improves on earlier means of determining guilt and innocence.  The lesson ends with a short video on the history of the right to trial by jury in the United States.  In the assessment activity, students are presented with a scenario in which they are falsely accused of shoplifting.  They must then choose a method of trial to resolve the accusation and justify their choice.

Lesson 3: Jury Selection
In the next three lessons, students participate in a mock trial in which Gold E. Locks is accused of trespassing by the Three Bears.  The first lesson takes them through the jury selection process with the teacher acting as judge and students as prospective jurors.  To keep things simple, jury selection in this case is not an adversarial process involving opposing attorneys.  Instead, the judge questions jurors and makes the final selections.  Students not chosen for the formal jury serve as alternates or form a shadow jury.  As an assessment activity, students play the role of newspaper reporters and interview two adults about their experiences with jury duty.

Lesson 4: The Trial of Gold E. Locks
In this lesson, a volunteer from the legal community visits the classroom to discuss how a trial works, the rules of evidence, and the roles of attorneys, judge, and jury.  The class then views a 15-minute video of the trial of Gold E. Locks.  When objections are made, the video is stopped and students are asked to apply what they have learned about the rules of evidence.  If a volunteer is not available, the teacher leads students through the trial process.  As an assessment activity, students review the roles of attorneys, judges, and juries during a trial.

Lesson 5: Jury Deliberation
In this last lesson, the student juries deliberate and attempt to reach decisions on Gold E. Locks' guilt or innocence.  The announcement of verdicts leads to a class discussion on how each jury made its decision.  In the assessment activity, students play the role of magazine journalists reporting on their experiences as jurors in the Gold E. Locks trial.

Culminating Activity: Make Your Case CD ROM
Make Your Case is designed to be used as a culminating activity with Justice by the People curriculum.  The game can be played by two players or teams of players and may take from 45 to 90 minutes to complete.

Make Your Case is based on a fictional civil case in which a bicyclist is suing a driver for damages that occurred when the two collided at an intersection.  The bicyclist claims that the driver was speeding and not paying attention to the road. The driver claims that the bicyclist ran a stop sign and failed to make herself visible.  Players take on the role of either the plaintiff or the defense attorney as the case goes to trial

Introduction to the case. (This is a QuickTime file and you will need Apple QuickTime to view it.  Cick here  to download QuickTime.)

When the game begins, students decide what pieces of evidence will be most helpful to include in their opening statements.  As the trial proceeds, they choose what questions to ask witnesses and make objections whenever the rules of evidence are violated.  An on-screen case file contains summaries of depositions and rules of evidence.  The trial concludes with the delivery of a verdict and opportunity for students to interview jurors.