Students at BFA Fairfax will be holding a mock trial Tuesday 26th January-Friday 29th January as part of the A.P. Literature unit on the
novel “Native Son” by Richard Wright. They need adults to volunteer as jurors for the four morning sessions and I wondered if you would be able to help us – as a juror, or even just by publicizing our request for jurors. I’ve fleshed out more details below. I’d love to hear from you when you’ve had a chance to consider this invitation.
Unfortunately, I will be unable to do it, but sounds like a fantastic idea.
The Mock Trial: The defendant in the case is Bigger Thomas, a 20-year old black male accused of murdering a young white woman, Mary Dalton.
Students assume roles as witnesses or as members of the Prosecution and Defense teams. The trial schedule is as follows:
Day One (8:45-9:35): Jury selection and Rule of Law
Day Two: (8:30 a.m.-9:45): Case for the Prosecution
Day Three: (8:30 a.m.-9:45): Case for the Defense
Day Four: (8:30-9:45 a.m.): Closing statements; jury deliberation; verdict.
This can be a powerful experience in which students become passionately engaged with the text, exploring it carefully for nuance and meaning that will support their case for or against the defendant. An important part of this experience for the students is having a jury that must decide on the case, so we are looking for potential jurors for the trial. I’d love to hear from you if you are able to participate during those 4 consecutive days. Please let me know as soon as possible if this is something you can help us with.
If any of you have an interest in being a juror, let Eve Thorsen know at:
EThorsen@bfafairfax.comAlso, I would love to follow this trial on my forum if BFA as some budding young journalists and photographers that would like to provide me the information and photos.
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