Students learn about Canadian justice system in mock jury trial
Students from Vanier and Central Collegiate were in court Dec. 21 to witness first-hand how a jury/trial process is conducted. The students participated in a mock jury trial at the Moose Jaw Court House on 64 Ominica Street W. Warren Miller, local Registrar/Sheriff says the mock jury trial is conducted every year so students get an opportunity to learn first-hand how the Canadian justice system works. “We’ve been doing this for about 10 years. We try once a year to set up a mock trial where the students involved in the Law 30 class can experience a Queen’s Bench jury selection and trial. In order to make it as realistic as possible, we have a Queen’s Bench Justice preside over the event; counsel from the regional office here and defence counsel from within the city.” Miller acted as the Queen’s Bench Justice who presided over the case. He said the mock jury trial was great for the students and this experience can help them to be better informed in the future about how a jury selection is made and what goes into conducting a full trial. The mock trial lasted for three hours, with students from both schools engaged in the process. “The students and the instructors all appreciate the experience. It’s a lot different from what students see on TV which is typically the American justice system. The Canadian system is different and how we proceed through the trial process. So, I think it’s good for the students to have a basic understanding of the Canadian jus- tice system. At some point in the future if they happen to be called for jury duty, they would know what to expect and they won’t panic because of the familiarity this mock jury trial has provided for them. We pick a jury of 12 from the pool of students and they get to participate in the whole process,” added Miller.
Teachers of the Law 30 Classes at Central and Vanier said the mock jury trial was an important learning experience for their students. “I think it is extremely important that the students got this experience because they got to see a real trial in action and they get to apply what they’ve learned in the class room. This is our third year participating and this is usually the students’ highlight of the semester,” said Cal Carter, teacher at Central. Christa Lapointe, teacher of the Law 30 Class at Vanier says this was the first year of participation for Vanier and the mock jury trial was also a highlight for students. “For the students to actually get this experience and put into action what they’ve learned in the classroom is really great for them. Picking up on the terminologies used in the trial and realizing what they mean in the Canadian justice system is important for them. This definitely helps them and creates the framework for further understanding.”
The mock jury trial consisted of Court of Queen’s Bench Warren Miller & Carol Meier (both acting); lawyers, Crown Counsel Brian Hendrickson, Q.C. and Defence Counsel Tim Hansen, along with Law 30 classes from Vanier and Central. A real traffic case was used to carry out the mock trial.