Registration for 2013 Sessions


 

Registration for the 2013 Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques program is now open.

Please register and pay for your program course materials fees for the 2013 Kessler-Eidson Trial Techniques Program. You must register and pay for your program course materials fees before Dec. 1, 2012. You will be notified soon after you complete your registration and payment on how to submit your top four (4) preferences for your Friday afternoon workshop placement with a downtown law firm/office.

Click here to register and pay the $135 fee via credit card.

Method of Instruction


Problem assignments are from Emory On-Line Special Printings, including the "James Bier" Direct/Cross Examination problem, the "Child Witness" Direct/Cross Examination problem, and the simulated case file to be announced. The final jury trials in the May session will be from two criminal case files to be announced. 

You will either play the roles of lawyer and witness in the first TBA case file, or play the roles of lawyer and witness in the second TBA case, depending on your jury trial assignment.  Final jury trial assignments will be made by your Team Leader during the May program session.  

On January 7, 2013, you will be given access to a Mediafire page link to electronically download the simulated case file and related on-line course materials that you will use during the spring semester five Friday afternoon workshops.  (You will also be able to pick hard copies of the materials on the same day from the Copy Center).  

In addition, on May 7, 2013, you will be given access via the Mediafire page link to download your newly assigned criminal case files and other related materials for which you use in the May session workshops and conduct jury trials on May 10, 2013. 

We will use the A and B adversary method of assigning the problems, with As representing:

  • State, in the assigned case file;
  • Nita Liquor Commission in the "James Bier" Problem and
  • Defendant in the "Child Witness" Problem.

and Bs representing:

  • Defendant, in the assigned case file;
  • Dan Jones and the Cut Rate Liquor Store in the "James Bier Problem"; and
  • Plaintiff in the "Child Witness" Problem.

You should soon make yourself thoroughly familiar with the spring semester assigned case file.  Since preparation time during the program is limited you should also read the "James Bier" Problem, before the program starts.  Also, on Tuesday evening, May 7, 2013, as part of your advance preparation for your jury trials, you should read your assigned criminal jury trial case file to begin to develop theories and themes for your side of the case, and begin to anticipate the theories and themes your opponent will likely be pursuing.  These will be discussed as part of the brainstorming session on Wednesday, May 9, 2012.

Because of time constraints inherent to such training sessions, you may not be able to perform the entirety of each exercise that you have been assigned. Please do not try to squeeze into your allotted time everything you would try to cover in real life; rather, give us as full a segment of the portion of the exam you have chosen as you would in court.  As a guide, when assigned a direct examination, you should prepare the entire exam, since you may be called to pick it up where the person before you left off.  On the other hand, when assigned a cross examination, you should pick one, two or at most three significant points and develop those through a series of short, one fact questions, rather than briefly touching on numerous points.

If you are preparing the direct examination of any particular witness, you should also be prepared to play the witness role since no outside people will be brought in to assume these roles. Don't worry, its fun to be a witness and you learn a lot doing it.

A courtroom atmosphere will be maintained during each workshop. You should bring your copy of the Federal Rules of Evidence for they will govern all rulings. Dress will be business casual except for the bench trials held on Tuesday, and jury trials held on the final days of the program.

In your spring semester case file you have been provided thumbnail printouts for the corresponding exhibits.  Your jury trial case files also have thumbnail printouts of a PowerPoint slide show available for your use illustrating all of the exhibits and blowups of certain exhibits from each.  There will be a laptop and projector in half the classrooms so that you can display these slides at your option as part of your examinations when you are in those rooms.  For technology use during the workshops, the faculty will act as operators ready to display whatever slides you choose whenever you request them by slide number.  You can preview these slides from the PowerPoint presentation that is included in your on-line case file materials.

For final trials, we will try to have projectors and laptops available in many of the courtrooms. If you don't get assigned a courtroom with a projector (or need a blow up on an exhibit), you are responsible for making any exhibit or enlargement that you will need for your trial.

A and B designations, team assignments, trial docket, courtroom assignments, program schedules, and all other bulletin information will be posted on the Trial Techniques Blackboard page and distributed to you via email.  It will be your responsibility to carefully review all emails from the Trial Techniques administrator director for updates and schedule downloads.