Hey Dan

Summer semester is DONE! I now have 20 glorious days before fall semester starts. The idea of taking one more class this fall still is rolling around in my brain. I could take a photography class and learn how the whole camera thing works. Right now I enrolled for a math class, Java II and public speaking. The real question is how much work is that going to be. If Java and math turn out to take a great deal of homework then I do not have time.

Last night was the mock-trial which was the final for Government class. It was both the most fun final I have ever had and one of the hardest. At the beginning of the semester we were given a mock-up of a case. It had witness depositions, physical evidence, applicable case law and the criminal charges of a fictitious case. One day one the class was split into defense and prosecution.

I was placed on the prosecution. The grade for our final was based on how well we did prosecuting the case. We selected people to play witnesses and lawyers. Lawyers had to argue the case and witnesses had to help their side without impeaching themselves. The way the case was written this was not a easy task. The case was written specialty to for mock-trial tournaments. (I had no idea there where such things.)

My job was one of the two team captains and to play the arresting officer in this kidnapping case. As the prosecution the deck was stacked ageist us. Let’s just say the word ‘reasonable doubt’ would come up a couple of times. As the prosecutions lead off witness I was going to take a beating from the defense. I knew this going in.

I have never spent this much time studying for any final. By last night I had read the whole case (70+ pages) dozens of time. I had gone through 4 or 5 dry runs of both my direct and cross examination testimony. I had retyped every word of my deposition 3 times. I barrowed books from a friends and former policeman and picked his brain about testifying. Walking in last night I still wished I had gone over the whole case just one more time. That changed to wishing I had drop the class when the defense made their opening remarks. Their defense hinged on two things, one another suspect who was not going to be put on the stand and shoddy police work (me).

It started off alright. The guy playing the prosecution lawyer for my direct testimony stood up call me to the stand. We got half way though the night of the crime without anything going wrong and then it happened. The blank look went across the lawyer’s face. His eyes got that panicked “HELP ME” look. He reached for his note to find where he should be, but his notes where not there. He had forgotten them. He was a lawyer without notes. He was about to fail a final exam and I was along for the ride.

The next couple minutes where painful for everyone in the room. He did get a hold of someone’s notes, but they were incomplete and out of order. The downside was that about half our case sat in my head and no-one was going to help get it into the record. The upside was that I was about to face the defense who had hinged their case on me and I had nothing to loose at this point.

The defense lawyer who cross examined me was very good. He had a plan and was going to stick to the plan. I was not going to stick to the plan. My job at this point was to get as much of our case in as testimony to the cross examination questions as possible. To keep witnesses form doing this in cross they ask yes or no questions. For those of you who have never played this game it is called “yes and.”

In the end we failed to get a conviction. The defense did a great job. The amazing part is that in the tournament score they only won by 2 points in a very high scoring match. This would be like loosing 5 to 4 in a hokey game where you goalie did not show for half the game. It was all about offense. I kept from impeaching myself (barely) and we got at least one of the defense witnesses to impeach themselves. In the end it was the second suspect that clichéd it for the jury.

I am very proud of my teammates and the other team. We both play very hard and after the final laughed with each other. There was even beer.