Mock Trial of Johnny Cade

Mock Trial of Johnny Cade The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Case of Johnny Cade, a Greaser Johnny Cade, a Greaser charged with first degree murder…or was it self-defense?

Bob Sheldon, a Soc, who was stabbed by Johnny Cade during an altercation at the park late at night.

 You have now read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and should have a clear understanding of the plot and characters in the story. You should be able to infer why the characters behave and take action the way they do.

 Let’s imagine that these story elements have changed:

Johnny Cade survived his injuries from the church fire and will now face trial for the murder of Bob Sheldon, a Soc. Dallas Winston also survives; since he’s not upset about Johnny’s death, he has no reason to suffer a breakdown & act violently.

Assignment Guidelines:  You will be assigned a role for the Mock Trial of Johnny Cade. You may not like the role you are assigned to, but you are still responsible for completing all tasks related to your assignment.  Carefully read through each of the writing assignments for your role in the trial.  You will spend the next two or three days preparing for trial…which means you will have to share your writing assignments with the other groups, so that they can prepare for a well-organized trial with clear arguments and rebuttals.  Please be PROMPT, PREPARED, PRODUCTIVE, & POLITE!

Roles:  Prosecution Attorneys (2)—You will charge Johnny Cade with First Degree Murder (That means he had motive, planned the murder out, and killed Bob Sheldon intentionally.)

 Defense Attorneys (2)—You will defend Johnny Cade and suggest a lesser charge, Manslaughter (That means that he did not plan to kill Bob Sheldon; rather he stabbed him in selfdefense.)

 Witnesses (8-9)—Each of you will write information about your character, using text evidence, to help the prosecution and defense teams present their cases.  Jury Members (6-16, depending on your class size)—You will write information (text evidence) in news articles to help the prosecution, defense, & witnesses during trial.

Prosecution Attorneys:  What are you charging Johnny Cade with?  You must have an opening statement.

(Why should Johnny be found guilty of first degree murder?)

 You must have evidence (text from the book) to support your charges against Johnny Cade.

 You must have questions for your witnesses & know which witnesses to use. Know what you need to ask each person to help your side win.  Be prepared to take notes & re-question witnesses after the defense team questions them. (Rebuttal)  You must have a closing statement. (Is he is guilty…why?)

Defense Attorneys:  What has Johnny Cade been charged with? What do you want him to be charged with instead?  You must have an opening statement. (Why should Johnny be found innocent of first degree murder?)  You must have evidence (text from the book) to defend Johnny Cade against a first degree murder charge.  You must have questions for your witnesses & know which witnesses to use. Know what you need to ask each person to help your side win.  Be prepared to re-question some witnesses after crossexamination by the prosecution team.  You must have a closing statement. (Is he not guilty…why?)

Witnesses:  Each witness must write a character biography about himself/herself, based on text evidence from the book. (This is from that character’s POV.)

 You may use Spark Notes from the internet to help develop your biography. Research your character & include important, relevant information that could help with the trial (Prosecution & Defense).

 Write a timeline about yourself. Pay particular attention to the timeline of events from the novel & how they could help or harm Johnny Cade’s case. (Remember, both sides will use this information in their cases for & against Johnny.)  Write about your own relationship with each of the other witnesses. Are you friends? Are you enemies? Why?

Jury Members:  Each jury member must help write a biography about each witness, based on text evidence from the book. (This is for your reference & to help

you with the news stories. Prosecution & Defense teams may also use these to reference.)

 You may use Spark Notes from the internet to help develop each witness’s biography. Research each character witness& include important, relevant information that could help with the news stories.  Each jury member must also help write three short news stories (1. about the killing, 2. about the escape, & 3. about the rumble) and put them all into a single newsletter (Use WORD to format your final newsletter. The teacher will show you how, once rough drafts are written, proofread, & edited for mistakes.)

 Remember, you must not show any bias in your stories. You are just reporting the stories…not stating your opinion about them. You must remain neutral (don’t choose sides).

Helpful Resources:  The Outsiders novel  Spiral pages completed the past two weeks  The Outsiders Debate Outline Format sheet (Prosecution & Defense Attorneys only)  Spark Notes—see attached link below:http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/outsiders/characte rs.html