Mendham students enact Mock Trial, Chester students in jury box

Inspired by the passionate fight for legal justice, readers of To Kill a Mockingbird, often imagine channeling their inner Atticus Finch to argue a case in front of a rapt courtroom. For students at Mendham Township Middle School, that opportunity is made available when 8th grade classes enact the mock trial of Bud Wieser v. The State of New Jersey. In this hypothetical case, a 16 year old girl is found frozen to death with a blood alcohol count of 0.14, after attending a party at the home of 25 year old Bud Wieser. The defendant, Bud Wieser is charged with Second Degree Manslaughter and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. Students are assigned roles and given the facts of the case and then prepare and present the case. The day of the trial is given an additional touch of authenticity, when students from Chester’s Black River Middle School, enter the mock courtroom as jurors.

Eighth grade Language Arts teacher, Sara Cyr, introduced the mock trial experience when she arrived at MTMS nine years ago. Previously, Cyr facilitated a similar project with 9th and 10th graders at Montville High School, where the program won an award for Best Practice from the State of New Jersey. Cyr knew the experience would tie in perfectly with the 8th grade unit on To Kill a Mockingbird and incorporate necessary 21st Century Learning skills. In addition to learning courtroom protocol and trial procedures, students practice important skills such as, critical thinking, public speaking, and collaboration. The mock trial incorporates real world issues, an element that is reinforced when parents and community members working in the legal profession, mentor students as they prepare oral arguments and practice questioning and cross examining witnesses.

One of the more challenging aspects of the project is finding impartial jurors. Students from other grade levels aren’t an option, because than they would already know the case when they got to 8th grade. Luckily, Black River Middle School’s Gifted and Talented teacher, Joe Pizzo was very interested in collaborating and has provided the jury for Ms. Cyr’s classes for the past 8 years. Chester students are taught about courtroom procedures and juror responsibility before they arrive at Mendham Township Middle School on the day of their trial. During the trial, jurors take notes and then go back to their school to deliberate. Over the years, verdicts have been delivered using FaceTime, Skype, Zoom and Google hangout.

The most rewarding aspect of the trial for Ms. Cyr is seeing students rise to the occasion and every year she is impressed with how professional and well prepared all the students are. While the experience is rewarding for all students involved, there have been students who have found the project truly transformative. Ms. Cyr shares, “There was a year where a student, who was not always excited about the daily challenges of school, served as a lawyer for the trial. He came up with a strategy that was so advanced, I had never even seen it done at the high school level. It was truly impressive and helped his defense team win the case. Years later I ran into him and he told me that he was on track to become a JAG lawyer in the military! He told me that it was all because of the Mock Trial and that it changed everything about his education for him. It doesn't get much better than that!”