Alright, everybody should be finishing up their questions/opening or closing statements. Now we all need to collaborate. So, once you are finished, copy and paste them into a comment on THIS POST. Everyone can look over stuff and put in suggestions.
Also, once you are finished, be sure to email your stuff into Mr. Sevison. poetatlaw@hotmail.com
Thanks!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Opening statements (Prosecution)
ReplyDeleteThe story of a very troubled young man/woman.
Casey Campbell is a senior at Park Lane High School. Progressively throughout his/her senior year, Campbell, the defendant, had various interactions with a popular group of kids. This group, called "The Crew" included a girl/boy named Sawyer Simpson. Sawyer tried to be polite towards Casey, but his/her actions were very much wrongly misinterpreted. Casey saw Sawyer's actions as bullying. Throughout the year, Casey became paranoid. Everything said or done by The Crew would seriously bother Casey. His/her grades dropped drastically.
During this time, the defendant set up an R-place page. On this R-place page, there wre graphic pictures depicting the detonation of Park Lane High. These pictures also specifically depicted the death of Sawyer Simpson. Clearly, there was something much deeper running through the mind of Casey Campbell.
On April 4th, 2008, Detective Rory Riley recieved a call on the department's tip line. The anonymous caller told of a bomb in one of PLHS's garbage cans. Detective Riley drove to investigate the tip. Inside the garbage can he found a clear container filled with liquid. There was a wrist watch and various wires attached to this container. This object, was later identified as a bomb. A bomb that was placed in the exact location as the defendant's drawing depicts.
The explosive was dismantled and examined by the city bomb squad. Kim Killian lead the examination. The time bomb was set to go off at 3:00 pm. School ends prior to three, when the only people remaining on the dining patio are members of the crew. The liquid inside the explosive was made of doxene, a common cleaner, and paint thinner. Combined, the chemical reaction could create an explosion enough to destroy within a radius of sixty feet.
Detective Riley obtained a search warrant for Casey Campbell's home. In the garage, Riley found an opened container of paint thinner. He also found several drawings similar to the one Casey's R place page. Detective Riley arrested Casey.
There are three things someone must have to commit a crime. Motive, means, and opportunity. Today's case will show that Casey Campbell had all three. He had motive, desperately wanting Sawyer Simpson out of his life. His intent was clear when he posted such graphic drawings on R-place. He had means, detective Riley found paint thinner in Campbell's posession. Lastly, the defendant had opportunity. Sawyer Simpson will testify to have seen Campbell wandering around the dining patio at around seven o clock am, on April fourth. Cameron Cortez, the counselor at Park Lane, will also testify to seeing the defendant cross over to the parking lot and pay phones at about 12:25 pm. This is at the exact time Detective Riley recieved the tip call from a school pay phone.
Motive, Means, and Opportunity. When all three line up, it equals one thing. That is, a guilty verdict. Thank you.
On your OS, be careful not to tell ALL the details, just enough to create an outline of where you're headed. Good job of outlining your points by the way (motive, means, and opportunity). Also point out where the opposing side will be unable to support their arguments, so your judges not only know to look for your strengths, but your opponents' weaknesses as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is where you lay your road map, and you want it to be clear where you are headed. Bring your OS (and entire case, right down to the last sentence of your CA) full-circle. Have an idea that ties it together. Something that we always tried to use in our competitions (and you'll see other teams do this as well, to varying degrees of effectiveness) is to use a metaphor, or draw an analogy from a short story you tell at the start of the OS. Of course, be mature about how you do it, but you can use just about anything. Just make it powerful and memorable...something the judges will chew on the entire trial. Ask Mr. Willey about "empty boxes." We used that a time or two.
Food for thought. For all I know, you may have heard all this and more...but I haven't been at your meetings so I don't know :) But it's looking good.
Yeah, we've been talking about using a quote by Abraham Lincoln...about logs and cabins...
ReplyDeleteI still have yet to find that quote, but how I heard it ties in with this perfectly.
Thanks for the advice!