Professor vs. Professor Mock Trial
March 17, 2013 By: Joelyssa Ferringer Guest Writer
On February 27, 2013, the Criminal Law Society, Mock Trial,
and Moot Court presented a Professor vs. Professor Mock Trial Event. The proceeds
from this event benefited Care House of Oakland County. Care House provides
Oakland County children and families dealing with abuse and neglect support
with advocacy and treatment in collaboration with the community. This event
raised over $350 dollars for the charity.
It was a great opportunity for a student to see real attorneys
present a trial; this tied together the academic sphere and the real world
sphere. Professor Catalodo and Dean Halushka represented the Prosecution,
while Professors Gershel and Langham represented the Defense. Judge Richards from Southfield district court
presided over the trial.
Alpesh Tailor acted
as the defendant, Irwin Fletcher, who was on trial for attacking and beating
the victim. The victim was played by Bill Barnwell, who was dating the
defendant’s mother. The lead detective was played by Christos Moutousis while Laura
DeSanto played the defendant’s mother, who was being attacked by victim. This
was a classic case of self-defense gone array. It is important to
understand how to clearly present a case, whether as a litigator in trial or
when writing a brief to the court. Professor
Lewis Langham noted that “[t]here are a lot of moving parts that go into
presenting a case before a jury. It's the law in motion. You may learn how to
do an opening statement, direct examination and cross examination of a witness
and later conclude with closing arguments. The key is, can you put all the
moving parts of the trial together, that's not confusing to a jury and that
best represents your theory of the case. The lawyer that can do this is called
a Cooley Trained Lawyer.” For more information about Care House of Oakland County
visit: www.carehouse.org. |
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