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What is a trial? |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
Trial in session!
Gather up a couple of friends one afternoon, and try holding your own Fake Trial!
Everyone should take on a special role: one person can be the judge, each of two people can be the citizens who are coming to court to solve a problem, and all of the other friends can be the jury!
What is the Make Believe Problem being presented in your trial? What are some things the judge and jury should consider while making their decision? Make sure everyone gets a chance to talk and to present their own side of things.
Is it easy to be the judge, or is it hard to make an important decision that will affect other people? And what about the jury? -- Did the members of the jury all agree on what should be done, or did they have to talk about it and think for a little while??
Have you and a friend ever disagreed about something, and gone to a grown-up for help with settling the problem? A trial is a similar thing: When there is need for a solution to a problem or for the appropriate discipline for a wrongdoing, a trial is held in a court to decide what should happen.
At a trial, there is usually a judge. Judges are people with a special job -- because they have been through lots of schooling to learn about laws and fairness, they are given the job of making important decisions that define or create rules and interpret the law. Trials also sometimes have a jury, which is a group of citizens who listen to both sides of the case in the trial, and help the judge to make a decision by giving their opinion on what should happen!
Using trials to make decisions is something that governments have been doing for a very long time. The system helps people solve their problems, and it helps governments to guide and steer their citizens so that everyone can live happily together!
At a trial, there is usually a judge. Judges are people with a special job -- because they have been through lots of schooling to learn about laws and fairness, they are given the job of making important decisions that define or create rules and interpret the law. Trials also sometimes have a jury, which is a group of citizens who listen to both sides of the case in the trial, and help the judge to make a decision by giving their opinion on what should happen!
Using trials to make decisions is something that governments have been doing for a very long time. The system helps people solve their problems, and it helps governments to guide and steer their citizens so that everyone can live happily together!
Trial in session!
Gather up a couple of friends one afternoon, and try holding your own Fake Trial!
Everyone should take on a special role: one person can be the judge, each of two people can be the citizens who are coming to court to solve a problem, and all of the other friends can be the jury!
What is the Make Believe Problem being presented in your trial? What are some things the judge and jury should consider while making their decision? Make sure everyone gets a chance to talk and to present their own side of things.
Is it easy to be the judge, or is it hard to make an important decision that will affect other people? And what about the jury? -- Did the members of the jury all agree on what should be done, or did they have to talk about it and think for a little while??
