This video shows an entirely fictional 'mock' trial, with all parts played by teenagers. The violent attack shown is fictional and dramatized.
BAILIFF:All rise.
NARRATOR:'This is the trial of the Queen, versus Sales.'
CLERK:How do you plead, guilty, or not guilty?
JO SALES:Not guilty.
NARRATOR:'The case is fictional.'
FEMALE:Loser!
ALEX:You're a loser, Farley!
NARRATOR:'But the battle between prosecution and defence is very real.'
JO SALES:I did not walk through Hillside Park that day.
ALEX:You better be getting a good shot of this!
MISS AZENGA:Is it even possible that you mistook what Alex actually said?
FARLEY JOSEPH:I definitely heard Jo.
NARRATOR:'Guiding the students through the trial are two teams of expert barristers.'
LAWRENCE POWER:It's critical that the jury get that.
MR. BURN:Did you find anything on these sneakers when you examined them?
JANE NOEL:Yes I detected a small amount of blood on the sole of the right trainer.
NARRATOR:'Taking the law into their own hands, they are - Young Legal Eagles.'
NARRATOR:'Previously on Young Legal Eagles. The prosecution built their case against Jo Sales.
MR. BURN:Did you go to Jo's home address?
PC RUSSELL:I did indeed yeah. I knocked on the door and Jo Sales answered.
MR. BURN:And did you find anything?
PC RUSSELL:I did recover a pair of dark blue Sneakers, which I later sent for forensic analysis.
MR. BURN:Now when you examined the trainers, what were you looking for?
JANE NOEL:I was looking to see if the blood could have come from Farley Joseph.
MR. BURN:And what have you concluded?
JANE NOEL:I have concluded that there is a one in one billion possibility of the blood having not come from Farley Joseph or persons related to her.
NARRATOR:'But was the evidence enough to prove her guilt?'
MISS AZENGA:Could you test identify if Jo Sales picked up the blood at the school or at Hillside Park.
JANE NOEL:It is not possible to say.
JUDGE:Case for the defence, Miss Azenga.
MISS AZENGA:If it pleases you, your Honour, I'd like to bring out the first witness Jo Sales please.
NARRATOR:'Unlike the prosecution team, who have the burden of proving the case, the defence team do not make an opening statement to the jury. However they do have the opportunity to call defence witnesses. First to take the stand, is the defendant, Jo Sales, played by Yasmin Scott.'
JUDGE:The systems that we have in the United Kingdom, is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. So a defendant doesn't have to prove anything at all. It's for the prosecution to prove all the facts that they assert. It's possible simply to remain silent if you're defendant, and say nothing whatsoever.
LAWRENCE POWER:Let's step back and into Jo Sales' mind, of what happened at the time of the attack. Because it's her defence she wasn't there.
JO SALES:If she did go home straight after school, then she wouldn't have been anywhere near the attack.
JAQUELINE CASPI:So all we need to do, again, is place that reasonable doubt in the jury's mind, so that they believe Jo Sales' evidence.
MISS AZENGA:Can you tell us your full name please?
JO SALES:Jo Sales.
MISS AZENGA:Occupation?
JO SALES:Student.
MISS AZENGA:Age?
JO SALES:I'm 17.
MISS AZENGA:What is your relationship with Alex Jordan?
JO SALES:We're friends, I mean we're not best friends, but we are friends.
MISS AZENGA:And what did Alex say to you?
JO SALES:I think he was really upset because he found out that Farley Joseph had been cheating on him. So he asked me to help him teach her a lesson.
MISS AZENGA:And what was your response to this?
JO SALES:Oh I said no, I was having none of it. I didn't want any involvement.
MISS AZENGA:And did you discuss any specific part you'd play in this attack?
JO SALES:Not at all, we didn't discuss me filming an attack or anything.
MISS AZENGA:And where did you go after school?
JO SALES:I went straight home, I walked along the main road.
JO SALES:And how would you describe Alex' manner of talking?
MISS AZENGA:He likes to use a lot of slang words, like he uses the word "Yo" a lot, So I guess that's easy to mix up with my name.
LAWRENCE POWER:That "Yo", "Jo" point maybe needed a further question. Just, that was such an important identification issue
NICOLA MCKINNEY:Yeah, she's left it a bit.
LAWRENCE POWER:Agreed.
MISS AZENGA:And Miss Sales, have you ever been arrested before?
JO SALES:No never. I was really upset when the police officer came to arrest me It's just, it had never happened to me before.
MISS AZENGA:And what was said in the conversation between you and the police officer?
JO SALES:I told him I lost my phone.
MISS AZENGA:And did you tell anyone about your mobile phone going missing?
JO SALES:Yeah I told my cousin, Bobbi Forward, that I had lost my phone.
MISS AZENGA:And do you have any idea where you may have lost your phone?
JO SALES:I'm not sure, I had it in last period but when I got home it wasn't there. And I usually keep it in the front compartment of my bag, So I'm guessing it must have gone missing on the way home.
MISS AZENGA:And tell us about your dark blue Sneakers.
JO SALES:They're my favourite trainers, so I wore them at school, but I didn't want to get them dirty so I changed into my old pair of Feets to walk home.
MISS AZENGA:And did you see Farley Joseph at all during the school hours?
JO SALES:Yeah I think I saw her in the playground when she had a nosebleed. I called across to see if she was okay but I don't think she heard me.
MISS AZENGA:No further questions your Honour, please remain in the stand as my learned friend from the prosecution may have further questions.
NICOLA MCKINNEY:Just in terms of cross-examination, you've got to treat the witness aggressively, because your case is that she's lying.
MR. BURN:Yeah.
NICOLA MCKINNEY:It's not a case of mishearing or a witness mis-seeing something, this is a witness, you're saying, is actually telling a lie. So you've got to directly challenge her those points, yeah?
MR. BURN:Now Miss Sales, in evidence you've said that you are friends with Alex, that's correct, isn't it?
JO SALES:Yeah, we are friends.
MR. BURN:In fact, you share most of your classes together, don't you?
JO SALES:Yeah, we're at the same school in the same year, so.
MR. BURN:So that would suggest you spend a lot of time together, at least during school.
JO SALES:Well they're lessons so I don't really get much chance to talk.
MR. BURN:And he did in fact tell you about this plan didn't he?
JO SALES:Yeah but I thought they were just empty words, you know, he was angry, I didn't think he would actually go through with it.
MR. BURN:But do you think that the fact that he told you about the plan in the first place, shows that you were quite close friends?
JO SALES:I guess it could suggest that but–
MR. BURN:Because he was confiding in you about a criminal offence he was planning to take out, wasn't he?
JO SALES:Well I just saw it as his anger and frustration that Farley Joseph had cheated on him.
MR. BURN:In fact, if someone is upset, do you not think that that makes them more unpredictable?
JO SALES:I suppose so, yes.
MR. BURN:So why did you not feel the need to tell anyone to protect your friend?
JO SALES:Because I genuinely didn't think that he would actually attack her. She's doing incredibly well, because she doesn't know what she's expecting here. This is a real live-fire exercise and I think she's doing so well, dealing with these questions.
MR. BURN:In fact, I put it to you Jo, that the reason you didn't tell anyone, was because you were a part of this plan.
JO SALES:That's incorrect.
MR. BURN:And in fact, this is why you weren't walking along the main road, you were in fact, walking through Hillside Park.
JO SALES:I did not walk through Hillside Park that day.
MR. BURN:Can you account for why Farley heard Alex call to "Jo"?
JO SALES:Like I said, Alex likes to use slang like, "yo" and my name is really close to that, so it's possible that she misheard.
MR. BURN:So despite not being good friends, you are able to tell what he talks like a lot of the time.
JO SALES:Yeah I'm at school with him.I'm in lessons when he speaks
MR. BURN:Now Jo, do you believethat teenagers todayare quite closeto their mobile phones?
JO SALES:Yeah, you could say that.
MR. BURN:Do you think that you were quiteclose to your mobile phone?
JO SALES:I can't really say to be honest.
MR. BURN:In fact you do keep your phonein a zipped compartment, don't you?
JO SALES:Yes in my bag.
MR. BURN:Why do you think you keep itin a zipped compartment?
JO SALES:So it doesn't get lost or stolen.
MR. BURN:And yet, quite remarkably, your phone did get lost on this particular day, didn't it?
JO SALES:Yes, it did.
MR. BURN:In fact Jo, I put it to you that you deliberately dumped your mobile phone.
JO SALES:I did not, that's incorrect.
MR. BURN:Now just to confirm to the jury, you do own a pair of dark blue Sneakers, don't you?
JO SALES:Yes I do, they are my favourite trainers.
MR. BURN:And these are the same trainers that Farley Joseph saw, weren't they?
JO SALES:Yes, and they're also… the same trainers that a lot of students wear at school, so.
MR. BURN:In fact, it's true isn't it, that Farley Joseph's blood was found on your sneakers?
JO SALES:Yes, I'm presuming that's from the nosebleed earlier that day.
MR. BURN:Now you said at evidence, "I shouted to Farley, to check if everything was alright" that's correct isn't it?
JO SALES:Yes.
MR. BURN:When you say you shouted, that would suggest that you're not quite close to her?
JO SALES:Not at that moment, no I wasn't.
MR. BURN:And in fact, it's quite unlikely that you were able to step in the fresh blood if you weren't close to her at all.
JO SALES:Not at that point, but blood doesn't really dry that quickly, does it?
TIM SALISBURY:The jury are not convinced.
NICOLA MCKINNEY:No.
MR. BURN:In fact Jo, you weren't there at all were you? You weren't anywhere near to Farley Joseph?
JO SALES:Yes I was, I saw her have a nosebleed.
MR. BURN:And therefore, there was no way that you could have got her fresh blood on to your shoes.
JO SALES:When I was walking back into school that's how, I presume, it did get on to my shoes.
MR. BURN:So just to clarify Jo, you do own a pair of dark blue Sneakers.
JO SALES:Yes, I do.
MR. BURN:Of which Farley Joseph's blood was found on.
JO SALES:Yes.
MR. BURN:And you do no longer have your phone.
JO SALES:That's correct.
MR. BURN:Thank you, I've got no further questions.
LAWRENCE POWER:Well done. Here we've got a good witness, in the real world we have problems.
NARRATOR:'On the next episode of Young Legal Eagles. The final defence Bobbi Forward, takes the stand.'
MEMBER OF THE DEFENCE #1:Can you remember what time Jo came in from school at?
BOBBI FORWARD:Not really.
MEMBER OF THE DEFENCE #1:Did you notice anything about her?
BOBBI FORWARD:Like 15 minutes later, I heard she was upset in the kitchen. So I asked her what was wrong and she told me she had lost her phone.
NARRATOR:'And things get heated, when the prosecution examines her evidence.'
CROWN PROSECUTOR #1:So are you saying that she knew she was going to be in trouble with the police?
BOBBI FORWARD:No, if she did know she was going to be in trouble with the police, she would have been upset from when she entered the house but she wasn't.
JAQUELINE CASPI:And she's arguing, effectively, with the witness.
NICOLA MCKINNEY:Yeah.
A live criminal justice case based on a Joint Enterprise crime committed by a teenager with all parts played by teenagers.
The judge, Baroness Scotland, is interviewed about the 'innocent until proven guilty' element of the British legal system.
The defendant, Jo Sayles, gives her testimony and is cross-examined by the Prosecution barristers.
The mentoring team comment on the defendant's deportment during questioning and praise her calm response to the questioning.
Teacher Notes
This clip could be used to introduce a research project into how the English court system works.
Pupils could research the different roles individuals play in the court system and track the progress of a trial, from an initial charge in a police station to the delivery of a judge's verdict.
The clip could also act as a stimulus to create a mock trial in the classroom, complete with lawyers, jurors and defendants.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching classes about law and justice in the UK. It will be suitable for ages 11-16.
Suitable for: KS3, GCSE/KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 3, National 4 and National 5 in Scotland.
More from Young Legal Eagles:
Mock criminal trial (1/6) - Case and plea video
A criminal case is introduced with the teenage barristers, their expert mentors, the judge, jury and courtroom. We hear the prosecution’s opening statement and are introduced to the main players.
Mock criminal trial (2/6) - Opening statement for the prosecution and first witness video
The victim of the criminal case, Farley Joseph, gives her testimony and is cross-examined. The crime is reconstructed and expert interviews are shown.
Mock criminal trial (3/6) - Court reporting and further witnesses. video
The criminal case continues with the second prosecution witness. There are interviews with a court artist, forensic scientist and a court reporter along with an explanation of contempt of court.
Mock criminal trial (5/6) - Further witnesses and closing statements. video
Defence witness Bobby Forwood is cross-examined, the expert barristers comment on everyone’s performance and the young barristers give their closing statements.
Mock criminal trial (6/6) - Verdict and sentencing. video
The judge carries out her summing up and the jury are sent from court to make their decision, before the verdict is given. The participants comment on their own and each other’s performance. The process is concluded.
