Young Writers Society

For the next...well...five-eight chapters of POD, Jamie will be in court. For those of you who don't know. And I was wondering. What exactly goes on in court?

I mean, I've recorded like eight episodes of Judge Judy, but it's all fake broke-into-your-car kinda stuff. I'm going deeper than that. Anybody have tips for finding read information about murder trials? It would be greatly appreciated.

You could try watching Boston Legal too lol! That's a show that's almost entirely in court. With some awesome humour thrown in. And I just realised I sound like an advertisement. But still, it could help.

I study law at college, and we have just covered courts and stuff so PMme with any details you need

Meevs
x

Oh and i also know the sentences available if she gets found guilty ha get me and my law revision lol!

Meevs
x

You can either watch CourtTV on TV or you can watch court trials on their website (courttv.com). I watch it all the time. Typically, trials are not that exciting unless the defense and the prosecution get all fired up and start arguing or the prisoner tries to run from the courtroom, LOL.

I've watched like eight hours of courtTV and stuff, but I'm looking for like, a long murder trial. So far I haven't found any. =(

Brokensword- Does the website have murder trials on it?

Thanks all for your help!

What country is the case set in? It's pointless getting loads of info on, for example, the British legal system if the case is set in America, as they're fairly different.

I don't mean to be a party-pooper, but should this go in Research?

I'm afraid "To Kill A Mockingbird" is all I can recommend, and that won't help you much, I think. Sorry!

Do you have any specific questions about them?

Have you tried reading the newspaper? A lot of the time it's got quite a few articles about trials a day.

Read a coupla John Grisham novels. They're quick and they're mostly all about lawyers and trials. You can learn alot...

But more specifically...You have the main players: the judge, the prosecuter, the defense attorney (depending on the type of case), the jury (also depending on the type of case), the bailiff, the court reporter, and the victim and the defendent. The judge calls the trial to order and the prosecuter begins with an opening statement about the case. If there is a jury, usually on big-time cases, then the lawyer addresses the jury, if this isn't a big case then there is no jury and the lawyer addresses the judge. The prosecuting attorney then proceeds to call witnesses to the stand and/or present evidence. The attorney will then question the witness and, when finished, the defense attorney will "cross-examine", peppering the witness with questions, usually trying to poke holes in his/her statement (The whole process is like a play/contest. You are performing for the jury. Pull their heartstrings, try make the other side look bad...)

Usually, the prosecutor will continue to present witnesses/evidence. Also, their will in all likelihood be an authority (doctor/author/psychologist) that will be called to the stand. The defence will not question these witnesses as much as, say, eyewitnesses because they're supposed to know what they're talking about. If one side wants to tear down an authority, you poke holes in their reputation (e.g find out whether or not their doctorite in psychology is real or not.)

After the prosecution has concluded with its witnesses and the defense has concluded cross-examining them, the defense will have a turn

Read a coupla John Grisham novels. They're quick and they're mostly all about lawyers and trials. You can learn alot...

But more specifically...You have the main players: the judge, the prosecuter, the defense attorney (depending on the type of case), the jury (also depending on the type of case), the bailiff, the court reporter, and the victim and the defendent. The judge calls the trial to order and the prosecuter begins with an opening statement about the case. If there is a jury, usually on big-time cases, then the lawyer addresses the jury, if this isn't a big case then there is no jury and the lawyer addresses the judge. The prosecuting attorney then proceeds to call witnesses to the stand and/or present evidence. The attorney will then question the witness and, when finished, the defense attorney will "cross-examine", peppering the witness with questions, usually trying to poke holes in his/her statement (The whole process is like a play/contest. You are performing for the jury. Pull their heartstrings, try make the other side look bad...)

Usually, the prosecutor will continue to present witnesses/evidence. Also, their will in all likelihood be an expert witness (doctor/author/psychologist) that will be called to the stand. The defence will not question these witnesses as much as, say, eyewitnesses because they're supposed to know what they're talking about. If one side wants to tear down an expert, you poke holes in their reputation (e.g find out whether or not their doctorite in psychology is real or not.)

After the prosecution has concluded with a closing statement, summing up what has been presented, and is finished with its witnesses and the defense has concluded cross-examining them, the defense will have a go at the trial system. The whole process starts over. It begins with an opening statement, presenting the case from the defendents p.o.v and is followed by a round of the defenses witnesses and cross-examinations from the prosecution. The defense can also call up experts. The defense concludes with a closing statement.

The jury of twelve now adjourns to a conference room to discuss the verdict amongst themselves. At least nine out of the twelve must agree on the same thing before presenting the verdict to the court.

A few helpful tips: 1.) A case like the one described above can last as long as two weeks or two days. It all depends on how many witnesses there are and how long it takes the jury to reach a conclusion.
2.) The court reporter types all of the goings on in the court on a laptop/typewriter
3.) A witness is sworn in before testifying (the whole put your hand on the bible, "do you so swear" type of stuff. I'm sure you can find a template for this oath on the web.
4.) An attorney can interrupt a questioning if they deem it irrevelent to the case. The judge then decides whether or not to "over rule" the request.
5.)The jury is catered to and recieves a stipend of $40 or so to cover gas.
6.) Evidence is labeled exibhit A...B...C
7.) When the defense/prosecution doesn't cross-examine they say "we have no further questions at this time"
8.) Watch Miracle on 34th street. It's a christmas movie but it has a great courtroom scene...

There are many other nuances of the courtroom, but they are too numerous to list. There's a buncha legal jargon and paperwork and other stuff I don't know about. My advice: watch courtroom shows (matlock) and read Grisham books. But STAY AWAY FROM JUDGE JUDY!!!! That is nothing like a real courtroom!!

Hope I could help. I'm pla

Read a coupla John Grisham novels. They're quick and they're mostly all about lawyers and trials. You can learn alot...

But more specifically...You have the main players: the judge, the prosecuter, the defense attorney (depending on the type of case), the jury (also depending on the type of case), the bailiff, the court reporter, and the victim and the defendent. The judge calls the trial to order and the prosecuter begins with an opening statement about the case. If there is a jury, usually on big-time cases, then the lawyer addresses the jury, if this isn't a big case then there is no jury and the lawyer addresses the judge. The prosecuting attorney then proceeds to call witnesses to the stand and/or present evidence. The attorney will then question the witness and, when finished, the defense attorney will "cross-examine", peppering the witness with questions, usually trying to poke holes in his/her statement (The whole process is like a play/contest. You are performing for the jury. Pull their heartstrings, try make the other side look bad...)

Usually, the prosecutor will continue to present witnesses/evidence. Also, their will in all likelihood be an expert witness (doctor/author/psychologist) that will be called to the stand. The defence will not question these witnesses as much as, say, eyewitnesses because they're supposed to know what they're talking about. If one side wants to tear down an expert, you poke holes in their reputation (e.g find out whether or not their doctorite in psychology is real or not.)

After the prosecution has concluded with a closing statement, summing up what has been presented, and is finished with its witnesses and the defense has concluded cross-examining them, the defense will have a go at the trial system. The whole process starts over. It begins with an opening statement, presenting the case from the defendents p.o.v and is followed by a round of the defenses witnesses and cross-examinations from the prosecution. The defense can also call up experts. The defense concludes with a closing statement.

The jury of twelve now adjourns to a conference room to discuss the verdict amongst themselves. At least nine out of the twelve must agree on the same thing before presenting the verdict to the court.

A few helpful tips: 1.) A case like the one described above can last as long as two weeks or two days. It all depends on how many witnesses there are and how long it takes the jury to reach a conclusion.
2.) The court reporter types all of the goings on in the court on a laptop/typewriter
3.) A witness is sworn in before testifying (the whole put your hand on the bible, "do you so swear" type of stuff. I'm sure you can find a template for this oath on the web.
4.) An attorney can interrupt a questioning if they deem it irrevelent to the case. The judge then decides whether or not to "over rule" the request.
5.)The jury is catered to and recieves a stipend of $40 or so to cover gas.
6.) Evidence is labeled exibhit A...B...C
7.) When the defense/prosecution doesn't cross-examine they say "we have no further questions at this time"
8.) Watch Miracle on 34th street. It's a christmas movie but it has a great courtroom scene...

There are many other nuances of the courtroom, but they are too numerous to list. There's a buncha legal jargon and paperwork and other stuff I don't know about. My advice: watch courtroom shows (matlock) and read Grisham books. But STAY AWAY FROM JUDGE JUDY!!!! That is nothing like a real courtroom!!

Hope I could help. If you have any q's just PM me.

-Kylan

I learned a lot in govt class....sadly I only pay attention enough to pass the class with an A and nothing more....

You could look up specific crimes and more than likely see transcripts from court, which might help you.

I would recommend John Grisham novels to you also.
They show how mundane trials actually are, don't try to glamourise it (too much at least)

The Rainmaker, The Client, A Time To Kill, The Innocent Man (non-fiction), The Runaway Jury and The King Of Torts should give you an idea of a trial. Though bear in mind that they are only fiction, independent research will aid you the rest of the way