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2017 TRIAL TECHNIQUE WORKSHOP PROGRAM

1. Grouping. The members of the class shall be organized into


groups of three law students each. One member a group shall conduct
the direct and another member, the cross. The third member shall orally
argue its case at the end of trial. The members may, however, assign
among themselves segments of the trial as they see best. One group
shall be matched against another group.

2. Suggested case. Each group shall scout for and submit a case
for trial derived from an actual legal dispute, whether civil or criminal (not
including labor cases that do not undergo trial). The chosen case may
still be in the process of trial or has already been decided. Possible
sources of these cases are records in the hands of litigation lawyers or
records that courts keep. To protect the identities of the personalities
involved in these cases, such as the parties, their counsel, and the judge,
their names shall be changed for the purpose of the mock trial.

3. Case Criteria. To be acceptable for the purpose of the workshop,


the chosen case for trial must meet the following criteria:

a) The basic documents of the case should be available for copying.


In a civil case, these would be composed of copies of the complaint, the
answer, the record of trial, and the documentary exhibits; and, in a
criminal case, these would be: copies of the information, the documentary
exhibits, and the sworn statements or testimonies of the witnesses. These
sets of documents shall be collectively called “source materials.”
b) The circumstances of the case appeal to human interest;
c) The testimony of one witness for each side would be sufficient to
prove their respective cases; and
d) The opposing theories of the case are both plausible, thus giving
each side a good fighting chance to win.

4. Selection of cases to be tried. Each group shall submit to the


professor on the agreed date a one-page summary of the case it suggests
for trial and make a five-minute presentation of its substance in class. The
presentation should give the opposing versions of each side of the case.
After all the groups have made their presentations, the professor shall
choose half of these cases for mock trials in the classroom.

5. Service of documents on opponent. When a case is chosen for


trial, the group that proposed such case shall immediately give the group
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that is matched against it, copies of the “source materials” mentioned


above. The source materials define the basic storylines that shall bind the
opposing groups. For the classroom trial, however, the parties may add
factual details and submit such documentary evidence, as they desire,
provided that these do not change the basic storylines in the source
materials. The professor shall determine by drawing of lots which group
shall represent the plaintiff and which shall represent the defendant.

6. Exchange of conflicting stories of witnesses. Each group shall


serve on the opposing group, at least one week before the scheduled trial,
a copy of the judicial affidavit of its sole witness (in question and answer
form), stating the facts that he or she shall testify on. No fact can be
elicited from the witness during direct examination that is not contained in
his or her judicial affidavit. If documentary exhibits shall be presented as
well, these must be included as annexes to the judicial affidavit of such
witness. Surprise evidence shall not be allowed.

7. Individual case file and trial brief. Each member of a group shall
prepare and maintain his own individual case file, containing copies of all
the documents that shall be adduced in the case, the affidavits of the
witnesses from both sides and their respective documentary exhibits. The
member’s name shall appear on the cover of the file. He shall also
prepare his individual trial brief on the case, a copy of which he shall
submit to the professor (thru the college office) within one week after the
exchange of opposing affidavits. Any student who is unable to submit the
required individual trial brief on time shall be excluded from the trial. The
individual trial brief shall contain the following:

a) An abstract of the conflicting claims of the parties;


b) A statement of the factual issues of the case based on the
abstract made;
c) The relevant laws and an analysis of how these laws shall
operate on the facts of the case;
c) A detailed outline of the testimony of the witness that shall be
presented to prove the facts needed to support the client’s theory of the
case;
d) A detailed outline of the probable testimony of the adverse party’s
witness; and
e) A cross-examination guide containing its objectives, the
admissions sought to be elicited, and the probable questions to ask,
arranged in proper sequence.
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8. Group trial brief required. The members of the group shall then
meet and discuss the various individual trial briefs, debate their merits,
and come up with a group trial brief, copy of which they shall submit to the
professor on the first day of the trial of their case.

9. Trial Proper. The Rules of Court shall govern the trial. For
classroom purposes, however, the following additional ground rules shall
be observed:

a) Each side shall have a total of 50 minutes to conduct both the


direct and redirect examinations of its witness and the cross-examination
and re-cross examination of its opponent’s witness. For example, if it
consumes only 20 minutes for direct, it shall have 30 minutes left for
redirect, cross, and re-cross. The clock shall stop during objections or
class discussions. The assigned time-keeper shall warn the student
counsel through appropriate signs when his allotted time for examining
the witness is running out and signal him to stop when it actually runs out.
b) Each side shall have only one witness. If some other minor
testimony is required, like a medical examination report, this may just be
identified and submitted in the course of trial. Such report, if reproduced
from the source materials, shall be considered prima facie true.
c) Each side shall have 5 extra minutes for re-direct and re-cross, if
they want.
d) The assigned counsel from each side shall have 5 minutes for
oral argument at the end of the trial.
e) After the argument, the panel of judges shall briefly withdraw to
deliberate on their verdict; it shall thereafter immediately issue the same,
which shall be inappealable.
f) Witnesses shall, unless otherwise permitted by the professor, be
drawn only from among the members of the class. The student who acts
as a witness shall be given credit for plausible performance.
g) Trial shall be conducted with courtesy, civility, and friendliness
among counsel and witnesses.

9. Trial Sequence. The conduct of trial shall be in the following order:

a. All shall rise when the judge enters the court.


b. The presiding judge shall bang his or her gavel and take his seat
with the other judges.
c. The trial clerk shall call out the title of the case for trial.
d. The lawyers shall enter their appearances by introducing
themselves, first the plaintiff’s lawyers, then the defendant’s lawyers.
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e. The presiding judge shall then ask the parties if they are ready; if
they are, he shall require the plaintiff to call his or her witness.
f. The trial clerk shall swear in the witness, then ask him his
personal circumstances.
g. The plaintiff’s counsel shall ask court’s permission to proceed
with the examination of the witness and this shall be granted.
h. Before examining the witness, counsel shall make an offer of his
testimony.
i. Counsel shall begin his direct examination.
j. The stenographers shall record the questions and the answers.
k. When documentary evidence is presented, counsel shall, unless
the evidence has been previously marked in the judicial affidavit, requests
that it be marked as Exh. A, if for plaintiff, and Exh. 1, if for defendant; the
trial clerk shall place the appropriate marking on the document; counsel
shall ask the witness to authenticate the document by stating how he
relates to it.
l. When the direct examination ends, the defendant’s counsel shall
ask the court’s permission to cross-examine the witness.
m. After the cross examination, plaintiff’s counsel may conduct a re-
direct examination; defendant’s counsel may do a re-cross.
n. Plaintiff’s counsel shall make a formal offer of his documentary
exhibits, stating the purpose of the offer.
o. Defendant’s counsel shall comment on or object to the offer.
p. Court shall admit or deny admission of the offered exhibits.
q. Plaintiff’s counsel shall rest his case.
r. The defendant shall present his or her case in the same
sequence.
s. After trial, one of the plaintiff’s counsel, followed by one of the
defendant’s counsel, shall argue their cases.
t. The panel of judges shall render its decision.

10. Trial Support Group. Three groups shall take part in every trial.
The groups that are paired to try a case against each other shall be the
principal groups. The third group shall serve as the support group
from which shall be drawn the following: a) the judge; b) the trial clerk who
shall call the case, elicit the personal data needed from the witness,
swear him, and mark the exhibits; c) two stenographers who shall divide
between themselves the work of taking down the questions and the
answers of the witness; and d) the time keeper who shall monitor the time
consumed for direct examination, cross-examination, re-direct
examination, re-cross examination, and oral argument.
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Out of the six cases that shall be tried, the principal groups in the
sixth case shall be the support group for the first case; the principal
groups in the first case shall be the support group for the second case;
the principal groups in the second case shall be the support group for the
third case, and so on until the last case. The principal groups whose case
shall be tried shall choose by consensus from the support group the
student presiding judge who shall hear their case. The student presiding
judge shall be the leader of the support group and shall designate who
shall be the trial clerk, the stenographers, and the time keeper.

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