Mock trials are used to educate law students, who act as the “lawyers” and also as the “defendants” and other key participants. Mock trials are also sometimes used to educate younger students, who typically act as “the jury”. The more lifelike and lively the mock trial, the more engaged are the participants. A law student (who wishes to be nameless) sends us this account of her experience:
Yesterday I was a witness in a mock trial (today I’m the lawyer): I played the role of the defendant on trial for drunk driving. I, of course, took this very seriously and developed a psychological profile for my character. After the trial was over, one of the attorneys observing the exercise asked me if I was a formally trained actor, since she really believed I was Jackie Lennon-McCartney, on trial for drunk driving. I wanted to say “No. No training. It’s just that everyone else in this room is so boring, that even when I play fake characters, I seem more real than they do.” Alas, I bit my tongue.