Mock Trial Recap and Response

After watching and experiencing the two trials on date rape and sexual harassment, I was not pleased with the result of the case I participated in. I disagree with the jury's decision on declaring David Jones not guilty. I strongly felt that Susan Williams was the victim of the alleged rape, and that David should not get away with such a terrible act. In Susan William's witness statement it is clear that it was rape since she told David "No, I don't want to", and soon after forced her to have sex with him. When Susan said no, David refused to listen and pulled her back ripping the back of her silk shirt. I believe that this is rape since Susan did not consent to having sexual intercourse with David, and therefore in my opinion he should have been declared guilty. It is quite evident that rape is an act of sexual intercourse that is forced upon a person, which is clearly the heinous act that David performed. Susan expressed a wide variety of emotions and developed signs of "Rape Trauma Syndrome", which was clear evidence that David had raped her. However, in the case of Elise Roberts vs. District of Columbia I strongly agreed with the verdict. I felt that Kevin Murphy should indeed have been found guilty. In this case Elise Roberts was frequently sexually harassed by one of her coworkers, Kevin Murphy in their workplace. Kevin Murphy had put up promiscuous posters of women on the wall in her office. This is a very clear act of sexual harassment since Kevin Murphy is putting Elise Roberts in an awkward and uncomfortable position when attending work on a regular basis. The group that presented this case continually brought up how Elise Roberts had missed many days of work. I felt that this was completely irrelevant to the fact that Kevin Murphy had sexually harassed Elise and made her feel uncomfortable. I feel that men in our society need to realize that forcing sex upon a women is a heinous act. Men need to learn that rape can affect women for the rest of their lives. Women will continue to express a wide variety of emotions after being raped and it can change their relationships with other people. Women may tend to become more distant and they may not trust their family or friends as well. Men don't realize that it can change a woman that bad and make them feel very insecure and unhappy with themselves. I have never heard of any cases of rape in teens that attend Deerfield High School. At our high school, I think that boys will tend to tease girls yet having no intentions of sexually harassing them. I believe that boys will try to get girls' attention in a harmless manner. In my opinion, our high school does a good job of making sure students are in a happy and safe environment. Students during free periods are watched by security guards who make sure that everyone is acting first class and not immature or malicious in any sort of way.

            Mock Trial Self Assessment: As playing the role of a juror during the trial of Elise Roberts vs. the District of Columbia, I found it very intriguing that we got to choose the verdict, and it was all based on our opinion of the case. I found it very challenging to keep up with all the information that the team provided us with about the case that they were presenting.  I think I could have listened for the main ideas of the case rather than jotting down everything I heard. Next time, I think that I should pay attention more carefully to the testimonies that were stated. As playing the role of a lawyer and witness was very intriguing as well since I got to get a feel what it feels like to question a witness in a courtroom. I felt it was challenging to ask questions that were in depth and not just a yes or no question. I think I performed well because I asked questions with a very analytical answer. Next time, I would speak louder and not as rapid.  In the case that I took part in, I felt that Chelsie did an excellent job with the opening statement and provided the jury with very specific important details. However, I felt that Effie was not very specific in his answers when I questioned him on the witness statement of Randy Miller. I felt that everyone participated equally, even though some people had more tasks than others.  I felt that the people doing cross-examination had to really work hard in order to get their facts straight about the case. I felt that everyone was prepared and had practiced their material before we performed the trial. My group had practiced our trial multiple times during the work days that we had received. Outside of school, I had practiced my direct examination multiple times in order to know everything I would be asking without only looking at my packet. Overall, I felt my group did a fabulous job preparing for this mock trial, however there were things I would do differently for our next mock trial.