Hilltop Elementary School Fifth Graders Conduct Mock Trial
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MOUNDSVILLE - Hilltop Elementary School fifth graders conducted a mock trial before Marshall County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Cramer on Friday - an event they had prepared weeks for.
When they first entered the courtroom the chatty students were all smiles and giggles. But after Cramer entered with an order to "all rise" from the mock bailiff, their demeanor changed and they were all business afterward.
The students, at first, followed a script with both the prosecution and defense making their opening statements in the case that involved a person dying in a car crash after taking some prescription drugs given to her by two friends. Witnesses were called and the jury listened and read along carefully.
Before it began, Cramer noted since the mock trials started 15 years ago that the jurors' verdicts are never planned.
"They come and play every part in a criminal trial, from the jurors, to the lawyers, to the defendants and witnesses. ... The jury will actually deliberate and come to a verdict," he said. "There are two defendants and three counts each and they have to decide what they're guilty of and not guilty of. Interestingly enough, for at least the 10 years, I would say there are six different counts they can vote on, and the verdict has been the exact same verdict for the last 10 years.
"And the most interesting part is that it's the right verdict based upon the evidence. It's the verdict they should reach. Nobody tells them to reach that verdict - they just do, which makes me hopeful."
Cramer said the mock trial helps teach the students about the court system and who works there and the case itself teaches a lesson about the consequences of using drugs.
He added the case itself is not based on a real court case, but an episode of the old TV show Wizards of Waverly Place.
Before the trial, student Caleb Wallace, who played the part of the prosecutor, said it had been fun learning about the law and courts.
"It's really fun because you get to speak a lot and you get to talk to doctors and officers, and you call up a lot of witnesses," he said. "We've been learning about court stuff for the past three months. So it's been a lot of fun."
Teacher Alexandra Archbold said the students did a lot of practicing and research for the trial. It was part of their Social Studies and Health classes.
"They researched the different charges, and being an attorney or being a defendant," she said. "It makes them better community members as they grow up and it gives them public speaking skills and they learn the consequences of their actions."