The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education Presents the Ohio High School Mock Trial 2010

1. The Ohio Center for Law-Related EducationPresents the Ohio High School Mock Trial 2010 Competition Judges Training

2. Ohio High School Mock Trial The Ohio Mock Trial Program, established by the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education (OCLRE) in 1983, is a statewide educational program designed to allow students to become aware of their constitutional rights and responsibilities. The High School Mock Trial program provides students the opportunity to learn first hand about the law, court procedures and the judicial system while also building interpretation, critical thinking and public speaking skills. Each year volunteer attorneys write a legally authentic case involving a constitutional issue that is relevant to students’ own personal experiences.  Ohio High School Mock Trial reaches approximately 4000 participants from at least 250 schools each year

3. Alex Leslie v. Erehwon Local School District

4. Tips for a Successful Competition These students have spent many hours preparing for this day and you are expected to come prepared as well Take time to review the case information as well as the rules and regulations before the competition Please keep in mind, even though the students are competing in a trial setting, they are still high school students Let’s all work together to make sure all the students know we RESPECT the work they have done and have a terrific experience learning about our judicial and legal system!

5. Mock Trial Judges Training(page #) In correspondence with the 2010 Competition Overview for Judges Scoring and Presiding Judges Judging and Scoring Guidelines (page 6) Scoring Rubric (pages 7 – 8) Copy of Score Sheet (page 9) Procedural Rules of Mock Trial Competition (pages 10-16) Presiding Judge Simplified Ohio Rules of Evidence and Articles (page 17-23) Common Objections and Trial Procedures (pages 24-29)

6. Trial Procedurepages 11-14 Pretrial Conference (Judging panel will receive score sheets from teams) Opening the Court (Bailiff will open the court) Opening Statements (4 min. maximum per statement) *All Timing will be kept by Timekeepers provided by both Plaintiff and Defense teams Swearing in Witnesses (Bailiff will swear in all witnesses at once) Testimony of Witnesses (Direct/Redirect 20 min.; Cross/Recross 18 min.) * Attorneys for Plaintiff and Defense will each call two witnesses *Plaintiff attorneys will present their case first Closing Arguments (5 min. each, with an additional 2 min. Plaintiff rebuttal) Post-Trial Objections *After the scoring judges have been excused, the presiding judge will ask if either team has any post trial objections. At this point ALL performing team members involved in this round may communicate, but communication is still prohibited with team and legal advisors and other audience members Deliberation Conclusion (Bailiff will call the court back in session) Debriefing and Announcement of Outstanding Witness and Attorney Awards (12 min.) * Do not announce the winner of the trial Closing of court (Bailiff will close the court) *Total time of trial should be no more than 2 hours

7. Judging and Scoring Guidelinespage 6 Each trial will be presented before a judicial panel consisting of three judges, magistrates and/or attorneys. The trial will be judged based on individual and team performance, not the merits of the case. One judge will serve as the presiding judge. The presiding judge will control the courtroom and rule on motions and objections. The presiding judge also will complete a score sheet, to be used in case of a tie. The other two judges will serve as scoring judges and evaluate the team and individual performances. Additional Notes: The judicial panel will hear the trial as a “bench trial.” This is not a jury trial and students will address the Court and not a jury. Each panel may judge two trials, if possible. All attempts will be made NOT to have the same judicial panel assigned to judge a team more than once. If judicial robes are available, judicial panelists are asked to wear the robe during competition. Only the presiding judge is to speak during the trial. The presiding judge’s comments are limited to ruling on objections and do not include questioning witnesses or counsel. Additional Notes: The judicial panel will hear the trial as a “bench trial.” This is not a jury trial and students will address the Court and not a jury. Each panel may judge two trials, if possible. All attempts will be made NOT to have the same judicial panel assigned to judge a team more than once. If judicial robes are available, judicial panelists are asked to wear the robe during competition. Only the presiding judge is to speak during the trial. The presiding judge’s comments are limited to ruling on objections and do not include questioning witnesses or counsel.

8. Scoring Processpage 6-9 All three judges MUST fill out a score sheet. Each judge will evaluate each team member on a scale of 1-6 and each team on a scale of 2-12. DO NOT use fractional points or award zero points. NO ties allowed in total points. The team that earns the most points on an individual judge’s score sheet is the winner of that judge’s ballot. If both scoring judges’ ballots show the same winner, that team will advance. If the scoring judges’ ballots are split, the presiding judge’s ballot will be considered. The team receiving the majority of the three ballots wins the trial.

9. Scoring Rubricpage 7

10. Attorney Performance Indicatorspage 7 Advocacy skills: creative, organized and convincing presentation Understanding of legal issues: ability to apply law and facts to case Oratorical skills: poised, able to think on feet, extemporaneous delivery Demeanor/Professionalism/Civility Mastery of trial technique: effective use of objections, appropriate form of questioning, ability to recognize and rehabilitate own weaknesses, mitigate opponent’s good points Did not ask questions that called for an unfair extrapolation from the witness Opening statement: provided case overview, identified theory of the case, discussed the burden of proof, stated the relief requested and was non-argumentative Closing argument: continued theory of the case introduced in opening statement, summarized the evidence, applied the applicable law, discussed the burden of proof, concentrated on the important – not the trivial, and overall was persuasive Complies with Competition Rules

11. Witness Performance Indicatorspage 7 Knowledge of case facts and theory of team’s case Observant of courtroom decorum Believability of characterization and convincing in testimony Avoided unnecessarily long and/or non-responsive answers on cross examination Articulate and responsive Did not make unfair extrapolations Complies with Competition Rules

12. Team Effort Indicatorspage 8 Did the team establish a credible theme for its argument? Did the team select appropriate witnesses to prove the argument? Was witness examination organized? Did witness examination develop the argument? Was the team’s case carefully crafted and skillfully delivered? Complies with Competition Rules

13. Penaltiespage 8 If a majority of the judging panel determines that there has been a material violation of a Competition Rule that affected the fairness of the trial, 5 points shall be deducted from the offending team’s score on each judge’s score-sheet. If the panel believes that a 5-point penalty is insufficient given the seriousness of the violation, the panel shall consult with the Competition Committee, which may impose additional sanctions including, but not limited to, disqualification. One example of a material rules violation warranting a serious penalty would be communication between team members and their teacher or legal advisor, whether through signals, notes, or electronically. All objections must be made before the presiding judge retires to deliberate; after that, complaints may be made only after the competition, in writing, using the complaint form. Such complaints will not alter the decisions of the judicial panel.

14. Outstanding Witness and Attorney Awards The award is determined by adding together both scoring judges’ scores. The presiding judge’s score plays a role in determining the outstanding witness and attorney awards only IF there is tie between the scoring judges. A template has been provided on the back of the presiding judge’s Score Summary sheet to assist in determining the winner of the awards. The Outstanding Witness and Attorney awards for the trial will be announced after deliberation at the conclusion of the trial. Witness and Attorney awards are NOT consolation prizes. They must be won by objective score tabulation.

15. Conclusion of the Trial Limit the critique for the entire panel to a total of twelve (12) minutes. Present the Outstanding Witness and Outstanding Attorney awards during the critique. But do not announce which team won the trial Recognize each team for a job well done. Remember: Be brief! The teams are on a very tight schedule. Bear in mind the educational goals of the tournament. Criticism should be constructive and absent of harsh remarks. Do not make personally derisive comments either to the participants or to any other person while on the premises of the competition. Keep in mind at the competition that many of the students’ friends and family members may be within earshot. Also, please remember these are high school students from diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds. These students participate in mock trial as an extracurricular activity and devote hundreds of hours preparing for and participating in the competition. Humor is a welcome tension reliever during critiques – remind everyone that his or her experience during the competition should be fulfilling and fun. Comments should be of a general nature and not directed toward individual members of a team, except perhaps when pointing out something particularly well done. Be fair and distribute your comments broadly. The most valuable assistance you can provide in your critique is to point out (generally) what the team did well, rather than to concentrate on what the team or an individual did poorly.

16. How to Preside Deal with Pre-Trial matters. Conduct the trial according to the Ohio HSMT Competition rules and control the courtroom. Make rulings on objections based ONLY upon the Ohio HSMT Rules and Simplified Ohio Rules of Evidence. Interpret rules regarding no unfair extrapolations strictly and narrowly. Conclude the trial by asking if there are any post-trial objections. During deliberations, check the math on all score sheets and that they have been filled out completely. Fill out the Competition Summary Score Sheet before returning to the courtroom for the conclusion of the trial. All three judges should present the Outstanding Awards and offer critiques. Do NOT announce which team is advancing from the trial.  Pretrial No motions will be entertained in pretrial Teams should present completed score sheets during pretrial Control of the Courtroom Only the presiding judge is to speak during the trial but may not question witnesses or attorneys The presiding judge’s comments are limited to ruling on objections and do not include questioning witnesses or counsel Running Clock If there is a timing discrepancy of 15 seconds or more between the Plaintiff and Defense timekeepers, the Presiding Judge will be notified and will rule on the discrepancy before the trial continues. The running clock does stop for objections Scoring The presiding judge will score each team and complete a ballot The presiding judge ballot is considered only in the event of a tie The presiding judge will fill out the Competition Summary Score Sheet and return it as well as the 3 score sheets to an OCLRE representative at the conclusion of the trial Additional Materials: Procedural rules of Mock Trial Competition (pages 10-16) Simplified Ohio Rules of Evidence (pages 17-23) Common Objections and Trial Procedure (pages 24-29) Pretrial No motions will be entertained in pretrial Teams should present completed score sheets during pretrial Control of the Courtroom Only the presiding judge is to speak during the trial but may not question witnesses or attorneys The presiding judge’s comments are limited to ruling on objections and do not include questioning witnesses or counsel Running Clock If there is a timing discrepancy of 15 seconds or more between the Plaintiff and Defense timekeepers, the Presiding Judge will be notified and will rule on the discrepancy before the trial continues. The running clock does stop for objections Scoring The presiding judge will score each team and complete a ballot The presiding judge ballot is considered only in the event of a tie The presiding judge will fill out the Competition Summary Score Sheet and return it as well as the 3 score sheets to an OCLRE representative at the conclusion of the trial Additional Materials: Procedural rules of Mock Trial Competition (pages 10-16) Simplified Ohio Rules of Evidence (pages 17-23) Common Objections and Trial Procedure (pages 24-29)

17. Advancing in Competition All teams winning both of their trials (Plaintiff and Defense), determined by receiving at least two ballots per trial, will advance in competition from districts to regionals. Similarly, all teams winning both of their trials (Plaintiff and Defense), determined by receiving at least two ballots per trial, will advance in competition from regionals to the state competition.

18. Important Reminders Please do not judge a trial in which you might be perceived to be biased toward one of the teams or to otherwise have some conflict of interest. To ensure the integrity of the Mock Trial program, do NOT interact with any team/legal advisor or student on a personal basis while in the courthouse.

19. Important Reminders Extrapolation Interpret rules regarding no unfair extrapolations strictly and narrowly. But if the trial is getting bogged down with objections over extrapolations of little importance, encourage counsel to limit their objections to important matters affecting the fairness of the trial and to consider addressing less consequential mis-statements through cross examination. Score Sheet Each judge (2 scoring and 1 presiding) MUST fill out the score sheet completely. * For these and additional updates, please go to www.oclre.org and select the “download center” link to view the errata sheet Additional Reminders: Do not mention to the students if you are not thoroughly prepared to serve on a judging panel or if you are unfamiliar with the materials or rules. Students will be highly disappointed if they learn that this is the case, because they have spent so much time and effort preparing. Do not refer to “real world” rules during the trial or the debriefing session. This is not the real world, nor is it intended to be. Do not base your decisions on the merits of the case, but rather on the effectiveness of the students’ presentations. Please do not tell students that “they are better than real lawyers.” Everyone says that. Pay close attention during the trial presentation. Students watch each judge’s behavior very closely. Stay awake and alert. Please do not leave the courthouse until your round information and score sheets have been tabulated by competition staff and any potential problems have been reviewed. Additional Reminders: Do not mention to the students if you are not thoroughly prepared to serve on a judging panel or if you are unfamiliar with the materials or rules. Students will be highly disappointed if they learn that this is the case, because they have spent so much time and effort preparing. Do not refer to “real world” rules during the trial or the debriefing session. This is not the real world, nor is it intended to be. Do not base your decisions on the merits of the case, but rather on the effectiveness of the students’ presentations. Please do not tell students that “they are better than real lawyers.” Everyone says that. Pay close attention during the trial presentation. Students watch each judge’s behavior very closely. Stay awake and alert. Please do not leave the courthouse until your round information and score sheets have been tabulated by competition staff and any potential problems have been reviewed.

20. Thank You! Thank you for all of your time and efforts. The Ohio High School Mock Trial Program would not exist without volunteers like you! Please contact Addie Natalie, Mock Trial program coordinator, at 614-485-3507 or anatalie@oclre.org with any questions or concerns