First, the meaning of mock trial
(A) the English etymology of "mock trial"
"Mock trial" is a foreign word. Since 1930s, the mock trial course, which is usually offered in American law schools, has been widely translated into "mock trial" in China's legal works. [1] (p 92-93) There are three common words corresponding to "mock trial" in English: mock trial, mock trial and mock trial, among which "mock trial" is the most commonly used and is the first choice for "mock trial". It is generally believed that "mock trial" is a synonym for "mock trial" and a common word. [2] (P555-556) "mock trial", literally translated as "mock trial", although it is synonymous with "mock trial", mainly refers to the pre-trial "mock trial" held by attorneys to determine the case strategy, evaluate the litigation value and risk, and the pros and cons of the case. People from relevant juries are hired as mock jurors to appear in court, and they will be tried after the hearing. Simulated jurors will be asked questions such as arguments and trial skills, because these people don't know which side wants to hire them as jurors, and their frank views are very useful for formulating trial strategies. [3] (P10/9) As a teaching method,' mock trial' is not as commonly used as' mock trial' and' mock trial'.
Mooting', an undergraduate course of Law School of City University of Hong Kong (HKCU, www.cityu.edu.hk), has the same content as mock trial and can be translated as "mock trial". However, this usage only appears in HKCU, which is not a common word.
(B) the meaning of mock trial
1, the definition of "mock trial" in English
(1) In the authoritative dictionary Black Law Dictionary,' mock trial' refers to a virtual court held in a law school to discuss simulated or hypothetical cases, usually a simulated appeal trial. "Mock trial" refers to a virtual trial organized to train students (or lawyers) in court trial agency skills. [3] (P 1025)
(2) In the famous Webster's dictionary law, "mock trial" refers to a virtual court where law students debate fictional cases for training. [4]
(3) In the dictionary of legal research,' mock trial (trial)' refers to a teaching method of teaching court procedures, evidence rules, legal debates and specific trial systems through virtual civil or criminal litigation cases; Because it is a virtual trial, the ruling of the mock trial is not legally binding. [2] (P555-556)
2. Domestic definition of "mock trial"
In China, it is defined from the perspectives of "mock trial", "mock trial teaching" and "mock trial teaching method":
(1) "mock trial" refers to the teaching activities in which students, under the guidance of teachers, play the roles of judges, prosecutors, lawyers, litigants and other participants in litigation, and simulate a case with reference to court trials in judicial trials. [5]
(2) "Simulated Court Trial Teaching" is a teaching mode in mock trial, which integrates the legal theoretical knowledge and basic judicial skills learned in class into practice through students' personal participation, so as to achieve the educational purpose of unifying theory and practice. [6]
(3) "Simulated trial teaching method" refers to a teaching method in law teaching, which determines the teaching purpose, selects typical cases, simulates the case handling process, explains legal provisions, grasps the relationship between cases and laws, and is familiar with legal theories, thus improving students' quality. [7]
3. The significance of mock trial
To sum up, the meaning of mock trial is as follows:
(1) mock trial is a law teaching method and a law practice course.
(2) The mock trial is mainly used to train law students and sometimes as a means to train lawyers.
(3) The mock trial is usually conducted by students themselves, but it can also be conducted by teachers or other professionals, and students can achieve teaching objectives through observation. For example, China Youth Daily reported on September 5, 2002 that in order to introduce the "judicial review system" in Britain, on September 4, 2002, a judge of the British High Court and two Queen's Counsel starred in the mock trial of Tsinghua University Law School students, and Sir Goldsmith, the British Attorney General and Minister of Justice, personally presided over the comments. This also belongs to the category of mock trial teaching.
(4) The case of mock trial is simulated or fictitious. In other words, the case may be a real case in simulated reality or a purely fictional case.
(5) The main purpose of simulation is to train the skills of debate and trial, and at the same time learn the knowledge of litigation procedure, evidence rules and judicial system.
(6) Usually simulate the appeal trial procedure. Its purpose is to grasp the case more deeply and comprehensively.
(7) The judgment of mock trial is not legally binding. This is because the case of mock trial is simulated or fictional, and its court is not established according to law.
Second, the curriculum model of mock trial
(A) Model types of mock trial courses
1, compulsory course mode. In addition to HKCU, the mock trial course offered by the Law School of HKU (www.hku.hk/law) is also a compulsory course for law undergraduates. jurisp ctor(D & amp； J) In the curriculum, "mock trial" is a compulsory course, which is usually offered in the first grade. 197 1 former us president bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton were partners in the Yale mock trial competition when they were studying at Yale university. [8]
2. Elective course mode. For example, Tsinghua University (www.tsinghua.edu.cn) listed legal practice courses (including social practice such as mock trial) as limited courses for law undergraduates; There is no specialized course of "mock trial" in Peking University (www.law.pku.edu.cn), but only one course of "Legal Practice", which is also a restricted elective course.
3. The same class model as the procedural law. For example, the "mock trial" course of Yantai University (www.jwc.ytu.edu.cn) Law School has no corresponding credits, although it is a separate course. It is a practical teaching link that students must participate in. Its teaching method is "at the same time as class". This model has the same course nature as its affiliated courses, and is generally a compulsory course.
Author: Wu Xibin *
Source: Henan Education and Research Network