Trial Advocacy: Courses & Instruction
GOALS
Chicago-Kent trial advocacy courses are not to be considered "trade school" courses. While the courses prepare students for court appearances and other adversary proceedings before a trier of fact, they are more than a how-to course.
Chicago-Kent wants our students to think analytically, the way lawyers have to think in any situation. They decide what facts matter and how to present them. There is no blind-faith acceptance of things people say. They learn to weigh and evaluate, skills that will serve them well in any field of law. And they learn to communicate legal principles and information in a language real people understand.
Chicago-Kent trial advocacy courses stress the importance of preparation. Students learn the results they achieve will depend on the thought and work they invest. Lawyers need to know that.
We want students to understand the adversary system, that it assumes competent and principled advocacy. None of Chicago-Kent’s advocacy instructors is content with a course that concerns itself solely with mechanics. At all times we watch for opportunity to make a point about the ethics of trial lawyering. We try to teach a respect for truth. We stress that facts cannot be created, they are presented. Truth cannot be changed, it can be enlivened. We do not tolerate lies or concealment. We do not object to harass or annoy. We stress those provisions of the disciplinary code that govern trial lawyers.
Chicago-Kent graduates, especially those who have taken our trial advocacy courses, leave law school able to try lawsuits. And they have the skills that will enable them to become good, if not excellent, trial lawyers.
COURSES
Chicago-Kent offers three courses: Trial Advocacy I, Trial Advocacy II and Litigation Technology. In all three courses, students are trained to see evidentiary principles come alive. The traditional evidence courses do not train students to listen, analyze and react within seconds. We do.
We cover substantive and procedural law areas, especially in Trial Advocacy II and Litigation Technology. In those courses, one case file will cover contract principles, another tort law and another the principles of criminal law and procedure.
Trial Advocacy I
In Trial Advocacy I, students learn the various pieces of a trial: jury selection, opening statements, direct and cross examination, and closing argument. Each student will try a bench trial at midterm and a jury trial at the end of the semester. Enrollment is limited to 12 students
Trial Advocacy II
Trial Advocacy II is where we concentrate on putting together the pieces. From beginning to end we stress the theme and theory of the case, the goals being sought. Each student will try four jury trials. There will be an emphasis on expert testimony and demonstrative evidence. Two of the trials are civil, two are criminal. Trial Ad II is limited to eight students
Litigation Technology
In the litigation technology course students learn how to use technology to enhance their trial presentations. Students build upon the fundamental advocacy skills that they gained in Trial Advocacy I and II. The students integrate the use of computer slide presentations, document cameras and other presentation software into their mock trials and the other course exercises. Students learn how to handle things like videotaped depositions and digital evidence in a courtroom and try both civil and criminal trials in front of mock juries.
Intensive Trial Advocacy
In addition to the traditional semester, Chicago-Kent offers an eight-day intensive course during the school break in January and August. For eight days, students devote most of their waking time to trial advocacy. They receive a semester’s credit (three hours) and, according to prior commitment, will then move on to a regular semester of Trial Advocacy II. For the winter intensive course, enrollment is limited to 40 students with a student/instructor ratio of 8:1. The summer intensive course is limited to 32 students.
INSTRUCTORS
The trial advocacy courses are taught entirely by adjunct faculty. Justice Warren D. Wolfson, the coordinator of the Trial Advocacy Program, has carefully selected the instructors. All of them are selected because of their experience as trial lawyers and as trial advocacy teachers. No one is hired unless Justice Wolfson is convinced he or she can teach and try cases. They come from a cross-section of the legal community -- judges, prosecutors, public defenders and private practitioners.
TEACHING TECHNIQUTE AND GRADING
Chicago-Kent’s teaching technique is learn-by-doing. Students perform and every thing they do is critiqued by the instructor. Almost always, the instructor will demonstrate the thing he or she is teaching. Each instructor does things a little differently, but all use the same materials book and text. The book is designed to teach evidentiary and substantive law, as well as trial techniques. Chicago-Kent’s learn-by-doing and critique methods are designed to make evidentiary and substantive law principles come alive in a courtroom setting. We do not assign papers or give written final examinations. From time to time students will file written motions to suppress evidence or written motions in limine, but that is the extent of paper production. Little time is spent on lectures or self-congratulatory war stories. These are, in all respects, law courses.
For all Chicago-Kent trial advocacy courses, the final examination is the course itself. That is because we look to growth and progress when deciding grades. Evaluation is constant. Students are graded according to an instructor-subjective formula that combines effort, growth, skill, intelligence and character.
When each class ends, one of our goals is to ensure that each student has gained a respect for the fact-finding process and an understanding of the dynamics of the adversary system. Civility, professionalism, and duty to court and client are components of all Chicago-Kent trial advocacy courses.
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