You Object Again?

Against most of my better judgment and the requirements of sanity, I'm competing in GW's mock trial competition coming up this weekend and I'm chagrined to report: Mock Trial is hard! For a 1L who has spent a total of about two hours in court and who has never enjoyed watching "Law and Order" type shows,* trying to learn the mechanics of a trial (requests of the court, motions in limine, openings, objections, crosses, objections, directs, objections, redirects, objections, closings), plus the federal rules of evidence, plus the facts of the case -- it's been a huge task.

That said, I'm happy to report: Mock Trial is fun! Although I wasn't excited to play a criminal prosecutor, I've really gotten into the role. It's a fascinating exercise to pore over witness statements and evidence, to plan your direct examinations and prepare your witnesses, and to try to imagine what the other side is going to throw at you. I now understand why trial lawyers can often be great fiction writers -- to prepare for a trial, you have to create the perfect (and perfectly plausible) story to explain how all the facts fit together just right to make your case to the jury. I've literally spent hours just coming up with my questions for a direct examination of a witness, but the time just flies. I'm sure I'd feel differently if real lives and real futures were on the line, but for now, when it's all just make-believe, I'd much rather prep trial than read cases and go to class.

The hardest part so far: Learning how to question witnesses without every question raising an objection, while also learning how to listen to opposing council's questions to know when I should be objecting. My nightmare scenario is that our entire case in chief gets destroyed by the other side's objections so that we leave the jury without a clue of our theory of the case. Competition is Saturday. Isn't going to class optional?

* I just saw my first episode of "Law and Order" a few weeks ago and was completely underwhelmed. Why do people like this show? The acting was flat and monotonous; every line was rattled off as if by rote in a mechanical, the-clock-is-ticking-here style. Plus, the plot was so completely predictable, why bother watching?

Posted 06:22 AM | Comments (4) | law school