Nearing the End

March 28, 2022

I have been making significant progress these last couple of weeks on my original work project. I have finished analyzing the witness statements for all four witnesses, prepared my arguments for each side, drafted my opening statements, and have written out my witness questions.

My initial mentor meetings revolved largely around how trials work and what legal arguments I could use for my case. These conversations were always incredibly enlightening and I found myself very interested in the different types of legal arguments and when they could be used.

After settling on how I will argue the plaintiff’s and defense’s cases, I began work on my opening statements for each side. This required me to conduct some research on how opening statements are typically formatted. I began by asking my mentors what I should include and then supplemented their inputs with examples and outlines I found online. These online resources turned out to be incredibly helpful because they gave great tips on how to write a persuasive statement. For instance, I learned that it can be helpful to have an overarching theme that helps guide the jury's view of the case into the perspective that you want them to see. I struggled with this part of the case though because I did not have a lot of information to cover. My case covers a short timeline and has only four witnesses, which does not require a 15-20 minute statement as real cases typically would.

After finishing opening statements, I got to work on my witness questions. I enjoyed this part a lot because I got to figure out the best way to draw out the information I wanted from each witness. It was particularly interesting because I was writing questions for both the defense and plaintiff, which meant I covered both the direct and cross examinations of the witnesses. I was fascinated by how each side would ask questions that drew focus to different elements of the same statements in order to further their side of the story. For instance, the defense might ask a question about a phone call that warned the superintendent of a planned demonstration outside the high school (highlighting the disruptions the pin caused), while the plaintiff might ask a question that would point out that the superintendent met the source of the phone call at a Planned Parenthood meeting (thereby insinuating that the reason for restricting the pin was because the superintendent disagreed with the message it promoted).

During my last mentor meeting, we went over my witness questions and they suggested that I add some redirect questions, which I had not considered before. My goals going forward will be to add redirects, draft answers to the questions, and then begin working on the closing statements if I have the time. At this stage, I am nearing the end of my original work project. I will have my closing statements done by the end of next week, which gives me plenty of time to take the additional step of turning my work into a court transcript.