All,
At practice yesterday, we began drafting our questions and statements. We'd like to have finished drafts of every part soon. Please complete your draft of at least one of your parts and email a copy to me and Mr. Ackerman (chriscognato5@gmail.com and ackermancarl@hotmail.com, respectively) by Thursday morning. If you have more than one part: not all of your drafts have to be in by Thursday, but please have them all in by Monday morning. The sooner you send them to us, the sooner we can edit them and get them back to you!
Thanks,
Mr. Cognato
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
All,
Great work last week! This week we have two things to work on: First, I hope everyone hit the case material over the weekend. Gina will be quizzing us all on Thursday afternoon at the Firm, so make sure you know as much as you can about the case materials - facts, statements, and anything else that seems relevant. Second, on Tuesday, I'd like everyone to come to practice prepared with an outline of your roles - what you think you need to accomplish, what facts are most important, and how you might present that information to the jury. I'd like us to have a discussion about what everyone has prepared and help one another think through their various parts. Use the way Gina discussed Legan's testimony as your model, but we'll all have a chance to help one another as we continue to work on the various roles.
If you have any questions, please see me or Mr. Ackerman.
Thanks,
Mr. Cognato
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
All,
We are aware that a few of you may not have been able to make it into school today because of the Septa strike. You should know, however, that we now have the case materials and that, as a team, we are beginning to work on the case in earnest. Just as you are responsible for your schoolwork during the strike, you are also still a part of the team and you are responsible to yourself and to your Mock Trial teammates, even if you are unable to attend a meeting or two (and hopefully no more than that!), to stay on task and to help us all prepare for competition.
Case materials were passed out today, Wednesday, November 4th. We still have copies for those of you who were not in school today so please see Mr. Cognato (Rm. 106 at CHS) immediately upon your return. In the meantime, the materials are also available online at http://www.pabar.org/public/yld/meetings/yldstatewidemock.asp. Although we don't expect you to be able to print all of the papers included on that site, we do expect you to read them and to be just as prepared as your teammates when you return.
We are asking everyone on the team - present at school and absent - to do several things this week:
1. Read the case materials carefully - start to become experts about the case, its facts, and the relevant law.
2. Start to categorize facts as good for one side and bad for the other. Those of you who are in school on Thursday should come to our practice at Ballard with a list of ten facts in the case that are good for the prosecution (and that are, therefore, bad for the defense) and ten facts that are good for the defense. Those of you who are not in school on Thursday should also prepare these lists. When you get back, you will be able to talk about things the rest of us may have overlooked or had not yet considered.
3. Focus on the relevant law. The defendant is charged with homicide. Do not be distracted by other facts or issues. We may ultimately have to deal with side issues when we talk about evidence and strategy, but for right now, focus on the main issue - did the defendant commit homicide - and the good and bad relevant facts with which each side will present their case.
4. We are going to start case planning, defining responsibilities, and thinking about strategy very soon, so please start to think about all those things after you have read the case.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please come and talk to me in Rm. 106 at CHS immediately upon your return or, if the strike is prolonged, email me at chriscognato@yahoo.com.
Thanks, everyone, for checking the blog and for your attention to the assignments. We don't want to lose any time due to matters outside of our control. Hopefully, we will see you soon.
Sincerely,
Mr. Cognato
We are aware that a few of you may not have been able to make it into school today because of the Septa strike. You should know, however, that we now have the case materials and that, as a team, we are beginning to work on the case in earnest. Just as you are responsible for your schoolwork during the strike, you are also still a part of the team and you are responsible to yourself and to your Mock Trial teammates, even if you are unable to attend a meeting or two (and hopefully no more than that!), to stay on task and to help us all prepare for competition.
Case materials were passed out today, Wednesday, November 4th. We still have copies for those of you who were not in school today so please see Mr. Cognato (Rm. 106 at CHS) immediately upon your return. In the meantime, the materials are also available online at http://www.pabar.org/public/yld/meetings/yldstatewidemock.asp. Although we don't expect you to be able to print all of the papers included on that site, we do expect you to read them and to be just as prepared as your teammates when you return.
We are asking everyone on the team - present at school and absent - to do several things this week:
1. Read the case materials carefully - start to become experts about the case, its facts, and the relevant law.
2. Start to categorize facts as good for one side and bad for the other. Those of you who are in school on Thursday should come to our practice at Ballard with a list of ten facts in the case that are good for the prosecution (and that are, therefore, bad for the defense) and ten facts that are good for the defense. Those of you who are not in school on Thursday should also prepare these lists. When you get back, you will be able to talk about things the rest of us may have overlooked or had not yet considered.
3. Focus on the relevant law. The defendant is charged with homicide. Do not be distracted by other facts or issues. We may ultimately have to deal with side issues when we talk about evidence and strategy, but for right now, focus on the main issue - did the defendant commit homicide - and the good and bad relevant facts with which each side will present their case.
4. We are going to start case planning, defining responsibilities, and thinking about strategy very soon, so please start to think about all those things after you have read the case.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please come and talk to me in Rm. 106 at CHS immediately upon your return or, if the strike is prolonged, email me at chriscognato@yahoo.com.
Thanks, everyone, for checking the blog and for your attention to the assignments. We don't want to lose any time due to matters outside of our control. Hopefully, we will see you soon.
Sincerely,
Mr. Cognato
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