English IV Honors Frankenstein Gothic Mock Trial Ms.

Leon

Team Victor's position: Victor is innocent and should not be held accountable for Frankies actions.
Team Frankie's position: Victor is guilty and should be held accountable for Frankies actions.

1. Frankie is suing his creator in civil court. Your challenge is to determine if Victor should be held accountable for the
murders that his creation commits. Since Victor created the being without assuming the responsibility to care for it and
acclimate it to the society in which it was "born," Victor is being tried in court for negligence and being held accountable
for Frankies actions. Witnesses from the novel will be called to the stand to testify in this situation.

2. Each team will choose 3 teammates for the role of attorneys. These attorneys will take turns representing their teams
during the trial. Team Victor will choose their Victor. Team Frankie will choose their Frankie. You will then choose 1
other witness from the list below to testify/examine during trial.

3. All other students will choose a character from the novel. For the trial, you will sit in the audience as if you were your
character, and act/react like your character would. Dress up!

4. All members will be in charge of planning and researching for the trial. You will be handing in typed opening
statements, witness examination/cross examination sheet (evidence), and closing statements.

Witnesses (each team will choose 1 to examine) Roles

The ghost of William Frankenstein

The ghost of Justine Moritz Attorneys (3 per team)
The Delaceys Judge (1)
The ghost of Henry Clerval Defendant: Victor Frankenstein
The ghost of Elizabeth Lavenza Plaintiff: The monster
Alphonse Jurors (6 will be randomly chosen on the day of
Robert Walton trial)
Earnest Frankenstein
Mr. Krempe, Mr. Waldman
Medical experts, psychologists

5. The class will be carrying out the trial in the following order:
Opening statement by Frankies attorney
Opening statement by Victors attorney
Interrogation of Frankies witnesses by Frankies attorneys
Cross-examination of Frankies witnesses by Victors attorney
Interrogation of Victors witnesses by Victors attorneys
Cross-examination of Victors witnesses by Frankies attorneys
Closing arguments by both attorneys

6. The judge will invite the jury to deliberate in front of the class. The jury should submit a verdict in writing to the judge, who
will read it aloud.
You will be using the modes of persuasion in order to defend your position. We will concentrate on one mode per
day.

Day 1: Opening Statements

Pathos- Appeal to Emotion
The opening statement is the equivalent of your introduction paragraph. In your opening statement you will first
establish who you are representing. Second, you will have a hook that will lead into the position you are taking.
Third, you will establish the two claims that support your argument, and then tell us what evidence will support your
claims. Last, you will have a closing for your opening statement in which you tell us what you hope the evidence will
prove.
Formula:
State your position + state your 2 claims + tell us what evidence will support your claims + what you hope the
evidence will prove.
Requirements for opening statements:
- Must be at least 1 full meaty paragraph of 10 sentences in length.
- You must have a hook.
- You must employ Aristotles rhetorical appeals.
You will have at least 3 appeals to pathos. The appeal to logos will be in your evidence. On your outline, you
must highlight/text mark where your pathos appeals are.

Below are two examples of basic opening statements. You are not basic, so use this as a guide:

Good morning, my name is ____ and I represent ________.

I am here to prove that ___________ because of _________ and ________.
I will call two witnesses.
The first witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
The second witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
At the conclusion of the case, we will ask you to convict the defendant guilty, thank you.

Good morning, my name is ____ and I represent ________.

I am here to prove that ___________ because of _________ and ________.
I will call two witnesses.
The first witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
The second witness will be so and so, and he will testify as to such and such.
At the conclusion of the case, we will ask you to confirm the defendants innocence, thank you.
Day 2: Evidence Research
Logos: Appeal to the Mind (logic and facts)

Examination of Witnesses (Delegate half of the teammates to this task):

Your goal is to support each claim with textual evidence. In order to do so, your 2 witnesses will be taking the stand
to answer 2 questions (each) that will support your claims. The testimonies of your witness must be supported by
textual evidence (quotes).

You will include the question and answers for your witness in the witness examination sheet. You must cite
any quotations by including the page number. I will give you the document in which you will complete the
typed examination preparation.

Cross Examination (Delegate the other half of teammates to this task):

Your goal is to come up with an opposition to the other team. In order to do so, you will choose one witness from the
opposition team to examine and disprove. For this witness, you will prepare two questions and anticipate the
witnesss response by using the text.

You must question witness in order to discredit the other team, and to support your team. Make sure that you
ground your questions on textual evidence. You must cite any quotations by including the page number. I will
give you the document in which you will complete the typed cross examination preparation.

If their response is not supported by the novel, then you can discredit them by quoting what the character
spoke in the novel.
Day 3: Closing statements
Ethos: Use the Credibility of the Speaker

The closing statement is the equivalent of the closing paragraph. It is meant to tie your argument together in a
cohesive way, and leave a lasting impression on the jury. You need to convince the jury of your argument!

Requirements for closing statements:

- Must be at least 1 full, meaty paragraph of about 9-11 sentences in length..
- You must employ two appeals to ethos, and at least 1 appeal to pathos. On your outline, you must
highlight/text mark where your appeals are.
Formula:
First, start by thanking the jurors for their time.
Second, remind the jury of what you said in your opening. Therefore, restate your evidence and argue how
each point was proven in your trial case.
Third, present the closing statement with emotion. If the jury does not see that you believe in your case, then
they themselves will not believe in your case. Flaunt your rhetorical appeals!

Below are two examples of basic closing statements. You are not basic, so use this as a guide:
Good afternoon ladies and and gentlemen thank you for your time and attention to this very important matter
here today.
The defendant team upholds the innocence of the defendant based of off ______ and ________.
Witness 1s testimony of ______ emphasizes _______.
Witness 2s testimony of __________ supports _____________.
I thus conclude that the evidence presented establishes beyond reasonable doubt that ____________.

Good afternoon ladies and and gentlemen thank you for your time and attention to this very important matter
here today.
The prosecution team upholds the guiltiness of the defendant based of off ______ and ________.
Witness 1s testimony of ______ emphasizes _______.
Witness 2s testimony of __________ supports _____________.
I thus conclude that the evidence presented today establishes beyond reasonable doubt that ____________.