Public Access to Law Day

On Thursday 5/11/09 our year watched the film, Twelve Angry Men, in preparation for our Public Access to Law day that was being held on Monday 9/11/09. We were given a worksheet at the end of the film that we were to fill out if we were interested in taking part. The thirty most accurate worksheets were selected and those people participated on Monday.
A barrister facilitated the Public Access to Law day. He began with a brainstorming session to identify how much we knew about the law. Everyone was surprised by how much we knew! We were given information about how the court system works and how many courts there are, eg. District, Criminal, High etc. We also learned the difference between civil law (person vs person) and criminal law (state vs person).
We then had a discussion about sentencing and the death penalty, both in Ireland and abroad w3hich was very interesting. We discussed the jobs of solicitor and barristers in trial before watching a court scene from a movie. This was very helpful as it gave clear insights into trial procedure and the operation of prosecution and defence cases.
We then took part in a mock murder trial. Each person had a role, such as jurors, solicitors, witnesses and the accused. We had case files including the statement of the offence, the evidence, witness statements etc and we were told what we were allowed to read. The prosecution and defence teams were not given help to create their arguments, they had to create them from the information given.
I think this was very challenging but everyone enjoyed it and the formality of the setting that made it seem like a real court. Everyone got involved, worked extremely hard and brought excellent cases forward. In the end the jury returned a not guilty verdict.
The day was a complete success and everyone enjoyed the opportunity and the fun. This was a great experience for those who took part and I would recommend it to anyone.
By Alex O Connor 4A