Page 30 - Shot In The Dark Bullet Striations

Put students into brainstorming groups. Give all this role. This student must be very familiar with the
groups five to ten minutes to develop hypotheses laboratory procedures used to process the evidence
for each of the following: and should also be aware of the ways the evidence
can be mishandled and the precautions taken
1. Identify how each fact may support the case against evidence contamination and faulty methods,
presented by the prosecution. as these are likely to come up in court.

2. Identify how each fact may support the case The remainder of students should split,
presented by thedefense. approximately evenly, into the prosecution and
defense teams. The student filling the role of the
3. Identify critical weaknesses in the reliability of accused should work with the defense. Each side
each fact. should assign their members as either lawyers
or witnesses called. The lawyers are responsible
Review the brainstorming results as a class and for building their case, developing the questions
instruct students to connect various facts and to ask their witnesses, and for identifying key
evidence to make logical assumptions about the case. witnesses called by the other side to exploit during
cross examination. Each side should also identify
critical weaknesses in their own case and prepare
STUDENT ROLES counter-arguments for these weaknesses. As there
Allow students to select, or assign, various roles are always surprises during trial, each side should
relative to the characters. prepare strategies to deal with the unexpected.

Additional students may serve as the court, filling The prosecution must provide a reasonable series
the roles of judge, bailiff, and clerk. The judge must of events that are consistent with the facts of
research court proceedings and make determinations the case, a motive for the events that occurred,
of law, therefore the instructor may wish to take this and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the
role themselves. The bailiff is responsible for swearing accused is guilty. The defense may present
in witnesses and keeping order in the court. The Clerk their own accounting of the facts or undermine
is responsible for recording the trial proceedings. You the prosecution’s case by showing that the
may wish to omit these roles or have these students prosecution’s witnesses are unreliable, that the
work with the prosecution or defense during the prosecution’s version of the events make no sense
planning stages. With large classes, students may or is inconsistent, or by introducing reasonable
also play the role of jury. Jurors must attend to the doubt into the prosecution’s case.
trial proceedings and also review the evidence and
written documents prepared by the defense and Unlike a real trial, witnesses may help the lawyers
prosecution to come to a conclusion about the case. build their case; their primary duty, however,
They must then either meet outside of class and should be to become intimately familiar with their
come to a unanimous decision, or each write a short testimony. Expert witnesses are especially useful
paper justifying their own decision. when dealing with forensic evidence, and each side
may wish to call their own or use the other side’s
At least one student should act as an expect witness expert. The students playing the role of expert
(the forensic scientist who processed analyzed witness must become very familiar with that field
the evidence presented); if multiple laboratory and be able to field questions about the accuracy
modules were utilized, several students should fill and limitations of the techniques.

30 THE MYSTERY OF LYLE AND LOUISE