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| MY Ethan Couch (notice the shirt) |
The other case involved for teens who threw an eight pound rock over an overpass and struck the passenger side of a vehicle. The passenger was Sharon Budd, a middle-school English teacher and breast cancer survivor. She has endured countless surgeries since this happened, as well as permanent brain damage and disfigurement. Her daughter was driving the car and witnessed the entire incident. Students were riveted by this case and wanted justice!
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| SHARON BUDD BEFORE THE ACCIDENT |
Of course, we also read two articles about the teen brain which students could use as evidence.
I cannot tell you how hard the students worked on their cases. They read more articles about their cases trying to find out as much as they could about them. In addition, I taught them about proper courtroom decorum, opening statements, questioning the witnesses, cross examination, and closing statements. Youtube provided me with some great examples!
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| Preparing for Trial |
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| Polling the Jury |
Students began presenting this week, and I was blown away! Students had mustaches, ties, jackets, glasses, and of course, I wore my Judge Karney robe! I still can't believe some of the defenses they came up with for the defendants in the cases. For example, one group said that the boys threw the rock over the overpass as part of an experiment for their science class; they even had the teacher testify. Another group had a teacher testify on behalf of one of the defendant but under cross examination it was pointed out that the teacher was a family friend of the defendant! I could go on and on about the amazing things they did.
After the cases, students had to serve on the jury. I appointed a foreman and sent them off to deliberate (a very abbreviated version). Many of the students were shocked to discover that they all had to agree on the verdict! They didn't like that at all.
Here are few excerpts from this week's trials:
ReplyDeleteDuring the past weeks, Mrs.Karney’s class has been both fascinating and entertaining. She divided us into groups and we had to create a trial about a case we learned about. I really enjoyed this assignment. It was something I had never done before. I learned some new terms, how trials work for a real life case, and the steps of a trial. I liked this assignment because we didn’t know all the information on the case so we could think outside the box and be creative about our witnesses and the answers to the witness’s questions. This assignment took a good amount of time and sometimes it became a little boring. Overall it was very amusing and fun to create a trial and to present it to the class. I really enjoyed this assignment.
-carly
The mock trial was such an awesome experience! As a witness, it was so fun to be asked questions by the attorneys! I learned that coming to a final conclusion in the courtroom is a long and challenging process. It may take months for a jury to decide if an individual is innocent or guilty. All members on the jury have to agree, which contributes to the time-consuming process of jury duty. Based on my experiences of being apart of the mock jury, my jury group was never able to agree on the verdict. It was quite difficult to convince those who were strong-willed and stubborn! This interesting project was an excellent way to introduce the jury and courtroom concepts to us!
ReplyDelete-Emma White
In my opinion, the mock trial was one of the most fun and creative projects that I have ever done. We each got a random group and a recieved random case. We had to elect 2 attorneys (one for prosecution, one for defense) and multiple witness'. Together we researched and came up with questions that we would then ask our witness to provide evidence for the jury. This process to a couple of weeks to complete. After we had presented our trial, the rest of the class acted as the jury and came to a conclusion on who was guilty. It was very difficult to come to and agreement because there were always a few people that disagreed to the rest of us. At then end though, I was amazed of how well we all did this project and how much we all learned
ReplyDelete-Shervin
1) I learned how a court works, and I learned a lot about the case I was presenting and the other base being presented.
ReplyDelete2) I liked it because I learned how lawyers present cases and how a jury works.
3) I thought it was funny when "Ethan Couch" thought the legal drinking age was 16.
Wyatt Honsberger
That WAS hilarious, Wyatt!
DeleteThat WAS hilarious, Wyatt!
DeleteFor the past few weeks my group and I have been working on the case of Ethan Couch for our mock trial. Throughout this period of time, I found the mock trial really fun and exciting. I learned that real trials can go on for days and when the jury is deciding whether someone is innocent or not, there can be a hung jury and the case will have to be repeated! The part I liked about the mock trial was getting to be interviewed and asked questions where we had to answer as if we were the criminal in the case. Honestly, I don’t really have any dislikes besides for answering questions, because I had to answer making me sound innocent, even when I was guilty.
ReplyDelete-Sierra
I never knew that there where two different types of examination, direct examination and cross examination. I always thought the defense attorney and prosecution attorney would pull the same witness up to the stand at different times. I also thought its kinda funny how much Ethan looks alike with Ethan Couch.
ReplyDelete-Adam Cooperman
test comment 2
ReplyDeleteI learned, in our trial, about indirect and direct questions. I never knew there even was a difference between direct questions (witness can only answer with yes or no) and indirect questions (witness can explain the answer more fully) in a trial until now. I loved this new experience with trials, that has now got me really interested. One of my favorite trial moments was when a witness was asked a direct question and at first answered yes, but then said no when the prosocutioner shook his head. I found this funny because of the misunderstanding between the two. Overall, I've never witnessed a trial and loved both observing and participating In it. I especially loved learning about the jury and how it's orchestrated. It was fun and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteCalia Ware
I really liked learning about the trial justice system because I like to watch a lot of crime/cop shows (i.e CSI) and I really liked how it was like being in one of those shows. I also learned about how all of the trials work and how the prosecution and defendant witnesses have to answer in yes or no format when being cross examined on the stand. It was a fun and exciting (and nerve wracking) experience
ReplyDeleteThe mock trial is one of my favorite projects so far. I was able to do my three favorite things: write, act, and argue with classmates. Throughout such a short period of time, I was able to learn so much about the justice system. I did not know how much research, preparation, and writing was put into each and every case. Also, I obtained an immense amount of vocabulary that made my case more sophisticated. My favorite trial moment was cross examination. I was able to point the finger back at the witness and show the flaws in the attorneys case. To be specific; while examining "Ethan Couch", he answered to my question that the legal age for drinking alcohol is 16. That got a few laughs from the jury.
ReplyDeleteThe mock trial is one of my favorite projects so far because I get to argue without limits, and express my point with facts about real life cases. Getting into an argument and emphasizing my point is one thing that I absolutely love to do. I really enjoy shows like Criminal Minds, Law and Order, and NCIS, and that is why I am really digging this project. Also, another reason why I am really fond of this project is that I get to research and get to express my argument with real facts that most people wouldn't know about, so when it is time to win the argument, I have the best knowledge and research.
ReplyDeleteI had a pretty good time working on the mock trial for the case of Sharon Budd with all my classmates. It was really fun acting like you were really in court. We got to argue, emphasize our point, and hopefully, get our way.I was on the prosecution as Sharon Budd's doctor. It made me sad to learn how Sharon and her family's life will never be the same. Back to the mock trials, it was also cool watching different groups go and do the same case because I got to see the different cross examinations and facts they used. All in all, I learned a lot of stuff and had fun doing it in the mock trials. They helped my interest of possibly being an attorney or lawyer go up. Finally, I had a great time with the mock trials and I would definitely do it again.
ReplyDelete-Colby Z
This week and last week our class has been presenting our trials to the class, it was a great experience learning about court cases and just learning how the real life is. People in the real world have to go to court every now and then and become the jury. For this project our class was able to learn about what happens in real court cases and how things are handles, and we got to write our own play of either of the two cases the Ethan Couch case, or the Sharon Budd case. I think that this activity helped the classes presentation skills and how to write, people got to learn new words to put into the court case to make it sound more official, and we just got to have fun with it. Thank you Mrs. Karney for letting us do this activity/project in our class I think that this has really helped our writing and the way that we look at the world.
ReplyDelete-Tanner Jackson
Learning about how the teenage brain is really interesting. It's funny how the brain doesn't fully grow until the age of thirty! But it is not okay how some teens blame their brain for making their mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThese past few weeks have been a blast! I had a great time learning about how the teenage brain works. It was so interesting and I learned so much. The Ethan Couch and Sharon Budd cases made me sad for them. But as a class we discussed what should happen to the teens who did this. The class was sharing all of their opinions. We even argued a bit! After this, I feel like I can be a lawyer or an attorney.
ReplyDelete-Drew Boddicker
For the past few weeks my group and I have been working on the case of Ethan Couch for our mock trial. Throughout this, I found that mock trials are really fun and interesting. I learned that real trials can go on for months.I also learned what a hung jury is. I liked being interviewed and asked questions where we had to answer as if it were real. Overall, I think that this was fun and I would like to do one again.
ReplyDelete-Tyler Gordon
One thing I learned while doing the mock trials was how they work when your actually doing them (like in a courtroom with a judge and real attorneys). Another thing I learned was how crucial certain thing were, for example, having correct facts is VERY important. One thing that I liked was actually presenting my case because it was cool to see how everything went, once we were actually presenting. One of my favorite moments was when Ethan in our group said 16 instead or 21 for the legal drinking age. Another thing that I thought was funny was when I was playing a boy and I started doing a boy voice!
ReplyDelete- Laine
period 0
I found this mock trial project very interesting and informative. I learned a lot about how a trial works in real life, which will be useful in the future. I also learned a lot about affluenza and the effects of bad parenting. I really enjoyed working on this project, I feel like I gained a lot by participating in this mock trial. I think that we had enough time but we just started off really slow and because of that we rushed the end. I also think that we could have used a little bit more background information on how a trial works. My favorite part of any trial was when the boy playing Ethan Couch said that the legal drinking age was 16 not 21. Overall I thought this project was very interesting.
ReplyDelete-Sophie Park pd.0
I really liked the mock trial project. I thought it was fun to be in a group with people you don’t know because you get to learn about them. I liked my group because we were funny, but we still got work done. This project also showed me that you have to be able to defend your own opinion. In addition, I learned that people can be very convincing and change your mind. In conclusion, this project taught me many new things, and I think more students should do this project.
ReplyDeleteExtra Credit Opportunity
ReplyDeleteDoing the mock trial was such a fun and exciting experience! One of the many things I learned was what it is really like in the courtroom and how fast paced it is. Something I really liked about this opportunity was to be like a witness and be cross-examined. My favorite trial moment was when we cross-examined Ethan Couch to prove that he was guilty. Overall I really liked this experience and opportunity.
Extra Credit
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed doing the mock trial. It was a very exciting and informative experience. I loved working in groups and acting out a character in the trial. It was so fun to be Ethan Couch!! My favorite part was when I accidentally thought the legal drinking age was 16, instead of 21. I learned so much about court, cross examinations, and opening/closing statements. I hope to have similar learning opportunities in my future classes.
-Ethan Kies, Period 0
I had a lot of fun doing this project. It was a neat and different experience to learn about the court system. It was nice to be able to type up the documents in groups, because then we got the best answers and questions. I was the defense attorney and I defended Dylan M. Lahr. I won over the juries support and I thought that over all the group I was in did quite well. I liked the way this was organized and hope that the 7th graders next year get to enjoy this experience as well!
ReplyDeleteNathan Montanez Per. 0
It was very fun doing the mock trials. I learned just how hard it can be to prove something in court. I also learned how a jury really works and how to be proffesional. Our group worked well together and I think we did I great job. I hope the seventh graders next year have just as much fun as I did.
ReplyDeleteAllison Mulvehill per.2
I thought that the mock trial was a fun experience. It was great because it wasn't like any other English assignment I had ever done. I learned how quickly someone's mind can be changed by looking at something in a different light. My favorite part was choosing the verdict. I loved discussing all of the different point of views and changing peoples minds. Overall I really enjoyed it and I hope we do more assignments like it.
ReplyDeleteErik McCutchen - 0
I thought the mock trial project was super fun! Over the past week's Mrs.Karney taught us how to be lawyers, witnesses, and jury. Every time I was in a jury, we could never agree. It was super cool how we watched the lawyers to defend their client no matter what! How they would cross examine the witnesses just to prove the client is innocent or guilty. I wouldn't change a thing about that mock trial because it worked perfectly! My favorite part was when Ethan Couch thought the drinking age was 16. I loved this activity, it was so different from everything else we did in class. I really hope we can do some activities like this more often. I also thought my group did a really good job ( I loved playing the role of the teacher). I think we are now prepared for a real trial, all thanks to Mrs.Karney!
ReplyDelete- Lilly Teisher period 0