USING A JURY SIMULATION AS A CLASSROOM EXERCISE
| Date | 01 June 1997 |
| Author | Jordan H. Leibman,Robert B. Bennett,Richard E. Fetter |
| Published date | 01 June 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1722.1997.tb00071.x |
USING
A
JURY SIMULATION
AS
A
CLASSROOM
EXERCISE
by
Robert
B.
Bennett,
Jr.,
J.D.,'
Jordan
H.
Leibman,
J.D.,"
and
Richard
E.
Fetter,
Ph.D."'
ABS'IRACT:
The
authors' empirical research project considers
the
effects
of
differences
in
actual legal rules on jury decisions
and, concurrently, gives business stuoknts
the
opportunity
to
participate
in
a realistic jury experience.
The
project uses actual
trial evidence
to
produce a videotaped simulated trial
presentation thereby insuring that
the
testimony, legal
arguments, jury instructions and facts are realistic.
To
&te,
approximately
2,000
business students have participated
in
the
simulation, under
the
supervision
of
13
different
Academy
members at
11
different universities. This article describes
the
project and its curricular benefits within
the
context
of
an
introductory course
in
law.
I.
INTRODUCTION.
Understanding dispute
resolution
is
a
critical element
of
an
introductory course
in
law.'
In
fact,
commentators
emphasize
that
law
*
Associate Professor of Business Law, Butler University.
***
Associate Professor
of
Marketing, Butler University.
The
authors
wish
to
acknowledge the helpful comments
by
Professor Linda SamueIs
of
George
Mason
University
on
an
earlier draft
of
this
article.
Carol
J.
Miller,
Mock
Jury
!#-ink
A
Model
for Business
Law
I
Courses,
6
J.
LEGAL
STUD.
EDUC.
91,93 (1987)("Although most sophomore business law students would
rank
the
wurt
system
fairly
low
in
the
priority
listing of beneficial
topics
taught
in
a
business
**
Professor
of
Business
Law, Indiana University.
192
I
Vol.
15
1
The
Journal
of
Legal
Studies
Education
can be viewed as
a
tool
for dispute resolution.
For
example, the
American Law Institute defines Yaw" as "the
body
of
principles,
standards and rules that
courts
of
a
particular
state apply
in
the
decision of controversies brought before them.''2 Therefore, students are
often required or encouraged
to
attend
a
court
session
to
witness
dispute resolution
in
action? Attending
court
arguably broadens
a
student's basic understanding of the role of law and
its
application
in
a
judicial context! Proponents
of
court
attendance
also
cite increased
student interest
in
course content and increased student appreciation
of
the
lads
impact
on
business
and
of the role
of
courts in formulating
social
policy!
A
court
visit
can
also
correct
misleading
media
portrayals'
of
litigation.'
law class, business persons rank
that
category as one of the more important topics to be
emphasized. The "real world" consequences of business decisions
okn
result in
litigation. When asked
how
their business law classes could have better prepared them,
many
business
persons would respond that they should have: given them
a
better feel for
the various steps of
a
trial,
introduced them
to
methods through which evidence was
gathered, and provided pointers
on
how
to
talk
to
lawyers and how
to
be better prepared
prior
to
consulting
a
lawyer.").
RESTATEMENT
(SECOND)
OF
CONFLICT
OF
hws
4
(1969).
In
a
survey
of
149
members
of
the
American
Business
Law
Association (a.k.a. The
Academy of
Legal
Studies
in
Business), Professors
Fox
and
Hufihire
found that
17.45%
of the respondents required students
to
attend court
in
conjunction with their business
law class. Karla
H.
Fox
&
Madelyn
M.
Hufiinire,
The
Use
ofcourt
Reports and
Other
WritingAssignments in the
Business
h
Curriculum,
9
J.
LEGALSTUD.
EDUC. 117,120-1
(1990).
See
Robert B. Bennett,
Jr.
&
William
K
Templeton,
Writing to Learn Business
Law,
13
J.
LEGALSTUD.
EDUC.
265,282 (1995),
for
a
sample syllabus requirement.
'
Fox
&
Huffhire,
supm
note
3,
at
123.
'
Id.
'
As
Professor Jennings
puts
it:
"[The O.J. Simpson Case]
is
all
the
public knows
or
wants
to
know
about lawyers,
courtrooms, Court
TV
and Terry Moran (who anchored most of the Simpson trial
coverage for Court TV apparently wearing pink lipstick-something even Greta
Van
Susteren will
not
do)."
Marianne
M.
Jennings,
Form-
The
Model
Rules
and
the
Code
of
Professioml
Responsibility Have Absolutely Nothing
To
Do
With Ethics:
The
Wally Cleaver
Proposition
as
an Alternatiue,
1996
WrS.
L.
REV.
1223, n.l(l996).
'I
See,
e.g.,
Bennett
&
Templeton,
supra
note
3,
at
282,
n.
36
("Students have respon-
ded
to
this
assignment
with
excellent papers and insightful classroom discussion.
Two
foreign student
in
a
recent MBA section who witnessed
a
murder
trial
provide repre-
sentative examples:
I
always
imagined
the
jury
as
a
group
of people profoundly interested
in
the
case
and
its
development. Furthermore,
I
imagined the jury
a8
well dressed, probably
with higher education
....
What
I
saw
was
totally different. People there were
informally dressed, their attention
mas
continually disrupted, fiequently they were
watching the clock
on
the wall, even worse nobody
was
taking
notes
about the
facts.
I
thought
to
myself "if my innocence and freedom depend
on
those people,
I
am dead."
The judge's role
in
the
case
is
a
passive
one.
His
purpose
is
to rule
on
the type
of
evidence and kind of questions that the attorneys (prosecution and defense) may
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