Warm UpMay 6, 2011

Do you think having a justice system that relies on its citizens to be jurors is a good idea or not? Defend your answer!

Today I will learn about the importance of civic involvement because students can have an enormous impact on our world!

Essential Question

Why is it important for citizens to be engaged in civic life?

We will watch a short video clip entitled Trial Procedure and Jury Duty. Students will then be posed the following question: Is jury duty an important civic duty? Would you like to serve on a jury? Why or Why not?

Preparing for a Trial

Background info: Lawyers from each side are allowed to select whom they would like to sit on the jury. Through a questioning process called voir dire (from the French term which means literally "to see to speak"), the judges and attorneys determine if they will dismiss any of the jurors and ensure an impartial jury of a cross section of the community.

Let’s examine the following scenario"Pleasant town High School is large suburban school with over 3000 students. On June 1, 2004, the school hosted a basketball game with a neighboring high school, Brookville High. After a tied game, Brookville won. An hour after the game was over and the crowd had left, seventeen year old John Kramer, a senior at Brookville, found that his car, which had been parked in Pleasant Town high school's parking lot during the game, had been vandalized. The wind shield was cracked and there were dents throughout the hood made with a blunt object. Someone had spray painted "Brookville Sucks" on the left side of the car. After questioning students who had seen the game, the police were told that seventeen year old Vincent Moray, a senior basketball player for Pleasant Town, had threatened to vandalize someone's car earlier that night. Some other students described seeing Vincent with a heavy pole in his hand going to the parking lot. John Kramer is charging Vincent Moray with vandalism. If convicted, he could face a severe fine. John Kramer lives with his parents and sister. Both parents work at Medicine inc., a large pharmaceutical company. John has a clean record, but is currently in a program for alcoholic teenagers. John Kramer works at Big Toe shoes after school. Vincent Moray lives with his mother, who currently is unemployed. Vincent works at Dookie Dog, a fast-food hot dog chain. He has accepted admission to Sunshine University for the fall."

Give students roles. Explain the terms prosecution and defense and appoint 2-3 attorneys for each side. Appoint a judge. The rest of the students are potential jury members. The jurors should go and create "identities" while both the prosecution and defense attorneys prepare questions to ask the jury. It is during this time, the lawyers must find out who they want to serve on the jury and those that they want to weed out due to a variety of circumstances. Brainstorm with class what these circumstances might be.

• We will now go the process of voir dire.

• why is the right to a jury trial so important? What are the implications of this rule?

Shaping Up Review 1 thing you loved about the lesson 4 ideas concepts you feel are important

3 of the most important facts you learned 1 statement that summarizes learning