Basic Trial Practice (645a)

The Advanced Trial Practice course is based on weekly jury trials.  Each student will try four jury trials during the semester.  The assignments are structured so that each student, with a partner, will be a plaintiff in a civil case, a defendant in a civil case, a prosecutor in a criminal case, and a defense attorney in a criminal case.  This permits each student to represent both sides of civil and criminal cases.  Students will also act as jurors, and must be available as witnesses in other trials.

Trials may be video-taped, and students will review their trial performances later.

Guest judges will preside over most of the trials.  This allows feedback from a variety of sources, so students receive balanced critiques of their performances.

Class attendance and participation are mandatory.

Mauet and Wolfson, Materials in Trial Advocacy (5^th ed.); Mauet, Trials;  other cases on reserve in the library.

Learn by doing and lectures.

Few

None

Participation and improvement in trial skills over the semester.