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Practice Mock TrialsIn this exercise, please choose ONE case and ONE side (Plaintiff or Defendant) to
represent. If you are doing this exercise during the lecture, you will be assigned a
case and a side.
For practice, go through the mock trial exercise by:
• Reading and understanding the fact pattern
• Filling out the Mock Trial information by having an opening statement,
two arguments (one legal, one factual or policy based), one
counterargument, and a concluding statement
• Opening statements should include your name, the party you represent, and
what you want the court to do. Keep it to 2 or 3 sentences, and don’t put any
arguments in your opening.
• Arguments should have more detail about your case and answer “why” the
court should rule in your side’s favor
• Counterarguments should focus on ONE argument the other side may
bring up, along with a rebuttal as to why that argument is not important or
less important than your side
• Closing statements should be short (maximum 1-2 sentences) and be used
to remind the court of how to rule in this case. There should not be any new
information or arguments in your closing!
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
Practice Mock Trial Problems – BLAW 101/110
Problem 1: Patricia and Denise live next door to each other in California and both
own pets. Patricia owns a cat. Patricia’s orange cat, Otis, recently saved a child
who was bit by a dog. Denise is a breeder who has owned dogs for 40 years, and
thinks dogs are better than cats. No dog of Denise’s has ever bit anyone. Patricia,
upon hearing this news, files a lawsuit in superior court against Denise. The State
law says: “only one type of pet is now allowed in the State, as of the beginning of
next month.”
You represent the Plaintiff, Patricia.
Opening Statement: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Arguments: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Counterargument: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Closing Statement: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
Practice Mock Trial Problems – BLAW 101/110
Problem 2: California is forced after the latest recession to pass a law allowing
only one sport to be played in the city of Los Angeles this Fall: football or
basketball. Basketball’s fan base has said that they will all leave LA if this law is
not passed in their favor, and that the Lakers tradition must live on. Football has
just arrived in L.A. and the taxpayers of Inglewood spent $1 Billion Dollars to
bring both the Chargers and Rams to Los Angeles and build a world-class stadium.
The stadium would lose hundreds of millions of dollars if it lost State funding.
Football sues Basketball in CA state court.
You represent the Plaintiff, Football.
Opening Statement: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Arguments: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Counterargument: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Closing Statement: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
Practice Mock Trial Problems – BLAW 101/110
Problem 3: After considerable debate in the State legislature, California agrees to
pass a law stating that one genre of music is allowed to be played over the
airwaves (TV, Movies and Radio): rap or pop. Currently, both rap and pop music
stars call Los Angeles home, and those artists have threatened to move their
businesses if denied the right to play music in California. Rap music currently
accounts for 20% of all music sales in California, down from its peak of 35% in
1992. Pop music, while only accounting for 10% of all music sales in California,
had nearly no sales as recent as 10 years ago. Finally, when Rap music attempted
to mediate this dispute to see if both sides would agree to a shared profit structure,
Pop music refused to engage in talks. Pop music’s argument at the time was that
rap music listeners are 50% more likely to commit a crime than pop music
listeners. In anticipation of this showdown, Pop Music sues Rap Music in
California Superior Court.
You represent the Plaintiff, pop music.
Opening Statement: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Arguments: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Counterargument: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Closing Statement: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
Practice Mock Trial Problems – BLAW 101/110
Problem 1: Patricia and Denise live next door to each other in California and both
own pets. Patricia owns a cat. Patricia’s orange cat, Otis, recently saved a child
who was bit by a dog. Denise is a breeder who has owned dogs for 40 years, and
thinks dogs are better than cats. No dog of Denise’s has ever bit anyone. Patricia,
upon hearing this news, files a lawsuit in superior court against Denise. The State
law says: “only one type of pet is now allowed in the State, as of the beginning of
next month.”
You represent the Defendant, Denise.
Opening Statement: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Arguments: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Counterargument: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Closing Statement: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
Practice Mock Trial Problems – BLAW 101/110
Problem 2: California is forced after the latest recession to pass a law allowing
only one sport to be played in the city of Los Angeles this Fall: football or
basketball. Basketball’s fan base has said that they will all leave LA if this law is
not passed in their favor, and that the Lakers tradition must live on. Football has
just arrived in L.A. and the taxpayers of Inglewood spent $1 Billion Dollars to
bring both the Chargers and Rams to Los Angeles and build a world-class stadium.
The stadium would lose hundreds of millions of dollars if it lost State funding.
Football sues Basketball in CA state court.
You represent the Defendant, Basketball.
Opening Statement: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Arguments: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Counterargument: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Closing Statement: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
Practice Mock Trial Problems – BLAW 101/110
Problem 3: After considerable debate in the State legislature, California agrees to
pass a law stating that one genre of music is allowed to be played over the
airwaves (TV, Movies and Radio): rap or pop. Currently, both rap and pop music
stars call Los Angeles home, and those artists have threatened to move their
businesses if denied the right to play music in California. Rap music currently
accounts for 20% of all music sales in California, down from its peak of 35% in
1992. Pop music, while only accounting for 10% of all music sales in California,
had nearly no sales as recent as 10 years ago. Finally, when Rap music attempted
to mediate this dispute to see if both sides would agree to a shared profit structure,
Pop music refused to engage in talks. Pop music’s argument at the time was that
rap music listeners are 50% more likely to commit a crime than pop music
listeners. In anticipation of this showdown, Pop Music sues Rap Music in
California Superior Court.
You represent the Defendant, rap music.
Opening Statement: _________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Arguments: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Counterargument: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Closing Statement: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
BLAW 101-110 – Practice Mock Trials
