ALERT:  THERE IS CURRENTLY THE POTENTIAL FOR WINTER WEATHER ON THURSDAY.  NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS WE WILL HAVE SEMINAR.  SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW FOR THE ONLINE CLASS.  YOU WILL NEED TO PREP YOUR COMPUTER IN ADVANCE OF SEMINAR ON THURSDAY.

Reminders:

Expert Reports are due by 3/13!

     

STREETLIGHTS

 

1. Quote
2. Teaching Techniques and Resources
3. Answers to Your Questions
4. News, Deadlines, & Dates
5. Random

 

Quote:   “Now it seems to me the place to start is at the beginning.” –Perry Mason

Teaching Techniques and Resources: HOW TO PREPARE FOR ONLINE CLASS:

1)      Go to campus.georgetown.edu and log in to Blackboard with your NetID and password.

2)      Once you are logged in, you will see the Street Law course listed under “My Courses” in the middle of the screen.

3)      Click on the course name.

4)      On the left hand side of the screen click “Course Tools”

5)      Then choose “Blackboard Collaborate” from the menu.

6)      In order to download the proper software, click the button labeled “Join Room” under Street Law Clinic:  High Schools.

7)      Click Join Room again and you will be prompted to download the software to enter the session.

 

 

1)      When it is time for seminar, you will log in to a specific session.

2)      On the main part of the screen you will see a Session listed under Scheduled Sessions.

3)      Click on the Scheduled Session, then click Join Room.

 

 

Answers to Your Questions:

 

Q1: Perry Mason submits, “Can attorneys be witnesses?”

A1: Yes-students can absolutely play two parts.  In fact, on most of your teams, they will have to!

 

Q2:  Alicia Florick inquires, “How much help can we give kids in drafting expert witness statements?”

A2: You should be very careful here-not only for GULC and DCPS honor codes but also because the less work the students put in, the less ownership and less command of the materials they will have.  We strongly encourage you to adopt a position of asking questions of the students and gently guiding them towards a comprehensive response-all of which is their own words/responses to your questions. There are sample expert witness reports on TWEN for you to look at and share with your students. Remember, if you don’t turn an expert report in by 3/13 your team forfeits the opportunity for the expert witness to give testimony as to the meaning of certain pieces of evidence. 

 

Q3: Jack McCoy asks, “We heard there were expert witness consultants that are available to help us, where are they?”

A3: Expert Reports are due Friday, March 13th.   If you would like some additional mentor help with the expert reports, Beth Helle at Veris Consulting has done this as a free agent with several mock trial teams over the past two years.   Veris prepares experts often, particularly in the area of forensic accounting.   Beth and her colleague, Beth Seger, may be able to arrange further assistance for your teams.   Their emails are:

bhelle@verisconsulting.com

bseger@verisconsulting.com

 

Q4:  Ally McBeal poses, “Is there a particular order in which we must call our witnesses?”

A4: Unlike all the formalities you are following, Ally, there is no specific order of appearance required. Teams may call their witnesses in any order. However, they must call all 3 witnesses, because the scoring system relies on cross exam by the opposing side for points.

 

Q5:  Saul Goodman wonders, “What should I tell my kids to wear to the Mock Trial?”

A5: Many students show up in their school uniforms but there will be a good number of students who dress up, i.e., in dress shirts, jackets and (occasionally) ties.  We suggest telling your students about this ahead of time in case they want to dress up.  Be very clear, however, that school uniforms are perfectly acceptable.

 

Q6:  Bob Loblaw would like to know “Where can I put my students if they come to GULC before the Mock Trial.  And what’s the deal with food?”

A6:  We will reserve several classrooms on both afternoons of the tournament if you want to bring your students to GULC early in the afternoon for a final practice session. We still send out details in next week’s Streelights (yes! during the break!). These rooms will be available on a first come, first serve basis but please be prepared to share with other teams from other schools.  There are also public spaces such as the cafeteria or TV lounge in Gewirz available if you arrive before 3:30 or want more space.  If you let us know you’ll be here (and where) and let us know how many students you’ll have, we would be happy to order some pizzas for you.  If you don’t let us know, however, no soup for you!

 

Q7: Denny Crane remembers us mentioning a letter that some previous Street Law students sent to their high school students’ parents and asks that we circulate a copy of this letter.

A7:  Attached, Denny.  And for the record, we think your idea to communicate with your students’ parents and to invite them to the Mock Trial is an excellent idea.  The trials are open to the public, free, and will be a unique opportunity for your students’ friends and families.  Be sure to change the highlighted portions to match your school. Also attached is this year’s mock trial flyer. Please distribute far and wide!

Additionally, if any of your students need an official letter to submit to an employer so that they may miss a day of work, please let us know as soon as possible and we will prepare such a letter for you on Street Law Clinic letterhead.

 

Q8: Annalise Keating wonders, “Do we need to submit an appearance sheet?”

A8:  Yes, Arnie, you do.  Each team will be required to complete an appearance sheet (attached) and hand to the judge at the beginning of each trial.  The appearance sheet lists each role (i.e., plaintiff opening statement, plaintiff direct on witness #1) and each law student should complete the sheet by writing in the names of the high school student assigned to each role.  And yes, we do encourage you to download the attached Appearance Sheet form and type in names ahead of time to make it easier for the judge to read the appearance sheets (you can hand write any last minute changes at the courthouse). We will have extra appearance sheets at the courthouse on the nights of the tournament. 

 

Deadlines & Dates:

 

03/03 – Demonstrative Requests due

03/13 – Expert Reports Due

03/19 – Mock Trial Round 1

03/25 – Mock Trial Round 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Quote
2. Teaching Techniques and Resources
3. Lesson plan of the Week (LPOW)
4. Answers to Your Questions
5. News, Deadlines, & Dates
6. Random Fact

1.  Quote:   “I would like for this moment to be for that kid who feels like she’s weird or she’s different, or feels like you don’t fit in anywhere…yes you do.”  –Graham Moore

2.  Teaching Techniques and Resources: If you’re not teaching during GULC Spring Break, you might be wondering what your students can do to prep without you.  We have DVD copies of past mock trial that your students can watch for examples and then PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!  Remember, you are not obligated to teach that week, but if you are going to be out, please let us know by email THIS WEEK.

3.  Lesson plans of the Week (LPOW):  Catherine, Erin, and Jenna’s lesson with the ghost of Tyler is posted on TWEN.  Check it out!

4.  Answers to Your Questions:

 Q1: Eddie Redmayne submits, “That website that Trevor showed us in seminar was SUPER AMAZING.  Can you remind me what the URL is for the site?”

A1: You’re right, it was SUPER AMAZING. The site is yourmetrocity.com. Also, if you have submissions for the website, they can be sent to or shared with yourmetrocity@gmail.com

Q2: Julianne Moore asks, “I’ve missed a seminar this semester and have no idea what I’m supposed to do to make it up.  Can you help?”

A2: Absolutely!  If you’ve missed seminar this semester, you are required to observe a peer and submit a reflection about the observation.  This should be completed within 2 weeks of the missed seminar.  If you’ve already missed the 2 week mark, no worries, submit it anyway!

Q3: Alejandro González Iñárritu wonders, “Some of my friends were asking if they could help score the mock trial.  Where should they sign up?

A3: Of course your friends can help score the mock trial!  There is a google form they need to complete in order to be added to the list of scorers.  It can be found here.  If you are interested in what the scoring sheet looks like, I’ve attached one here.

Q4: J.K. Simmons writes, “I haven’t done a monthly report in a loooooong time.  Is one due soon?”

A4:  YES!  You have a monthly report due on Sunday, March 1^st.  Remember to check your handbook for what is required in the monthly reports.  Also, your peer observation reflection is due at the same time.

Q5: John Legend and Common wonder….. “Now that we have our team numbers, when should we assign roles to my class?”

Q5: I know you are anxious to get this show on the road.  It is really up to you as to when you assign specific roles to your students.  The timing of assignments depends on your mock trial unit structure and how far along your class is.  If you’re feeling totally lost about when to do this, please meet with Jessica or Efrain about timing.

Q6 Emmanuel Lubezki queries, “I know we’re not required to teach during Spring Break, but I’ve heard that some of my classmates are going to anyway.  Is that legit?”

Q6: That is totally legit.  You are not required to teach during that week, but you are CERTAINLY welcome to do so.  If you’re worried about your students losing prep time while you are out, you can be creative with use of your mentor attorneys to keep your kids practicing.  Also, if you are going to be out, please let us know by email.

5.  Deadlines & Dates:

03/01:  Monthly Report and Peer Observation Due

03/06:  Demonstrative Requests Due (more info to come)

03/08 – 03/15:  GULC Spring Break – LET YOUR SCHOOL KNOW!

03/13:  Expert Reports DUE! (more info to come)

03/19:  First Round of Mock Trial

03/25:  Second Round of Mock Trial

04/02:  Mock Trial Finals

6.  Random Fact:  Oscar winners don’t really own their statues. Upon being presented with their award, winners must sign an agreement stating that they should they wish to sell their statuettes they must first offer them to the Academy for $1.