The Goals of the Observation
Students should write a cogent report on what they observe of the most important trial proceedings for the one eligible case they select to watch. Highlights of a civil trial typically include the opening statements of the attorneys, the testimony of witnesses (both eyewitnesses and expert witnesses) on both sides of the proceedings, the judge’s charge to the jury about the law relevant in the case, and the summations of counsel. Indeed, in the paper, students should label each such trial segment, in order to avoid any chance of confusion by the reader about what’s going on in the lawsuit.
The written observations should also include meaningful connections to relevant course readings and discussions. That is, the observed proceeding may reinforce (or contradict) important features of the American judicial system as addressed in the class. Some questions you may wish to consider here are:
• Are the proceedings more or less formal than what you expected?
What else is noteworthy about the courtroom environment?
• How do the attorneys conduct themselves, both during proceedings and before/after (if you have a chance to observe that)? What about the judge?
Is there dignity and mutual respect in the courtroom?
• Are the civil litigants present? What roles (if any) do they play in the proceedings?
• What is the pace of the proceedings?
• Does the case reveal important differences between civil and criminal proceedings? How so?
• Do your observations confirm, or conflict with, assigned readings in the course? How so, and why?
• Consider including examples or anecdotes about interesting events you observe that are directly related to the judicial proceedings.
Do not simply restate information Does the case reveal important differences between civil and criminal proceedings? How so?learned in the class for the sake of restatement. Instead, any material learned in the course that students mention in their paper must have a direct, intimate, and explicit connection with the jury trial being observed and reported on.
Time Requirement
The submitted observation should cover at least five hours of consequential judicial proceedings during the trial. This five-hour minimum is measured by the times designated in the online recordings that students watch, and not by the cumulative amount of time students consume conducting and preparing the observation itself. Indeed, such latter time frame is likely to be much greater than five hours for a paper that is well done.
To confirm that the minimum time requirement has been satisfied, students must indicate in their paper the specific recorded time segments for each portion of the trial they observe. For example, if a student reports on the testimony of a witness, then somewhere nearby (before or after) the student should indicate something such as: Part 2, from 1:33 to 2:03 (indicating the hour and nearest minute). Such a recorded time reference is required for each part of the trial reported on. And collectively, such time segments must add up to at least five hours.
Such time specifications should reflect the actual proceedings being reported. For example, if a witness testifies for an hour, but your summary addresses just a 15-minute sample of the person’s testimony, your time specification should be for those 15 minutes (and not the full hour) of the witness’s presence on the stand.
