One of the dads of our Cub Scout troop is an attorney. He arranged a tour of the courthouse for our Wolf Pack yesterday. And, it was so much better than that...
He arranged a mock trial. With prosecutor, defense attorney, judge and even a court reporter. They tried his son, Sterling, for [cue dramatic music] killing Humpty Dumpty. *ba-bum-bum* (That's the Law & Order opening.)
As I said, Sterling was the defendant, "Roy Kingsman" (complete with orange jumpsuit, socks and flip flops). The other Cub Scouts were the jurors. But, there were only seven of them, so the three siblings with us got to participate, too - that would include one Elizabeth Ann Johnson.
The jurors were sworn in. They listened to opening arguments and testimony from
- Wiley Wolf, who was taking cookies to his grandmother and saw the events unfold;
- Kurt Kingsman, Roy's brother who was making rounds on horseback with him that day; and
- Roy himself. (I know! I watch 48 hours Mystery, too, and know what a risky move it is to have the defendant testify!)
After closing arguments, the jurors were charged with choosing a foreman and deliberating a unanimous verdict. In the jury room. Alone. (I gotta be honest. The other mom sitting with me and I were a might nervous about this nod to reality. We were pretty sure it was going to turn into Lord of the Flies and the boys [and Elizabeth] would never return from the jury room. Although, I did have confidence that Lulu would quickly ascend to Supreme Leader of that society.)
They did come back, though, - although they came back sans foreman (I don't think they understood that part) - and found Sterling/Kingsman... GUILTY. But, I'm not sure the verdict was based so much on the "facts of the case" as on the desire to "send Sterling to jail." However, the crafty prosecutor did get Sterling to admit on the stand that he liked scrambled eggs...
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| Spence is the tall one on the back row. Lulu is the red ribbon on the front row. |
That is the best picture I could snap on the "down-low." I was already intimidated by the judge. When I jumped up to take Elizabeth's gum from her (that she was pulling in and out of her mouth with her fingers), he said, "Mr. Prosecutor when this trial is over, we're going to have to have one of the gallery members investigated for trying to exert influence over a juror." I was scared.
P.S. I'm pretty sure Sterling, errrrr, Roy Kingsman has a few grounds for appeal. Not the least of which is the fact that he wasn't even tried by a jury of twelve.
