It's first period and students take their seats for their Paralegal Studies class with teacher Melissa DuBose, one of three Central faculty members with a law degree. This elective course gives students the chance to gain practical skills in legal research, problem solving and office management. Students who earn a 75 average or better can receive college credit.

Today, students are preparing their final arguments in connection with a case they've been studying the past week, Utah v. Dozer. The following day, they'll present their arguments in a mock court. Here we give you a peek inside Ms. DuBose's class. We think it shows learning in action.

NOVEMBER 23, 2004

DuBose: Good morning, everybody! [Takes attendance.] This is great, only one student absent. What terrific students you are. So here's the game plan for today. I want you to break into your four groups to discuss the Bull Dozer case. Tomorrow, as you know, you'll be presenting your cases in court, before the judge. Mr. Abbott and Ms. Rae have generously agreed to serve as judges. Here's what you need to remember as you practice for tomorrow. First, the judge who will be hearing your arguments is impartial. It's your job to win him to your side. Second, the defendant has already been found guilty, so you're not retrying his crime, you're debating the sentence he received. Third, you're arguing either that the sentence should stay as it is, second degree murder with extreme malice, or you're arguing that the sentence should be reduced to involuntary manslaughter.

Click here to see a copy of the Paralegal Studies course syllabus, along with a short transcript of key testimony in Utah v. Dozer and the criminal code that applies to the case. Click here to read excerpts from the opening arguments students presented in mock court and the judge's verdict.

And here's what I want you to do in your groups. I want the spokesperson for each group, the one who'll deliver your team's opening remarks to the judge, to give his or her speech. I want you to listen hard to what they say. Then I want you to critique it and make it better. Pay attention not just to the arguments, but the presentation. Does your spokesperson put feeling behind their words? Conviction?

Also think carefully about the language you use. Be sure that it's sympathetic to your client. If Dan “Bull” Dozer is your client, how should you refer to him? [Student: As Mr. Dozer or Dan Dozer, not “Bull” Dozer. DuBose: Why? Student: Because “Bull” Dozer sounds bad.]

Any questions? Anything not clear about what I just said? [No questions.]

So let's move, let's make it happen like poetry, like ballet. Groups 1 and 2 here, 3 and 4 over there. Be sure you're spokesperson is ready to go. You need to have your facts at the top of your head.

DuBose begins moving around the room, dropping in on each group.

GROUP ONE
[The spokesperson, Arnaldo, begins to read his opening statement.]

DuBose: When you deliver it tomorrow, it'll be much more effective if you memorize it and then speak from the heart. But continue for now.

[Arnaldo finishes his speech.]

DuBose: Before I comment, do the rest of you have any suggestions? Jessica, what would you do differently? Kim?
Kim: He needs to lay out the facts in a more organized fashion.
DuBose: Yes, you need to stage your argument, to lay out the facts chronologically. Remember, you're telling a story.
Arnaldo: Two friends were drinking and things got out of hand. Sometimes when you mix alcohol with play, things happen that you didn't intend....
DuBose: You have to be clearer, still. Present the facts one by one.
Arnaldo: Okay, let's see. [Pause.] Two friends, Mr. Dozer and Jake Jones, were in a bar, gambling. They were sharing a bottle of whiskey and drank half a quart in a little under an hour. They started to argue and things got out of hand. They started fighting, like people who get angry and drunk sometimes do. Mr. Dozer thought his friend had attacked his honor. He suddenly grabbed the whiskey bottle and said, “It's all over for you, buddy.” He brought the bottle down on his friend's head and Jake died of a brain hemorrhage. My client may be violent, but he certainly did not commit second-degree murder.

So did I get the facts out right this time?

Kim: Yes.
DuBose: Yes, absolutely!

GROUP TWO
DuBose: So what are you all up to?
Student: We're analyzing how long it would have taken for the two guys to get drunk. And we're underscoring the bartender's statement that Dozer was not drunk.
DuBose: Are there any facts you can bring forward that would suggest Dozer is a heavy drinker with a high tolerance for alcohol?
Student: Just what the bartender said, that Dozer could get combative when he drinks heavily and that he'd put Dozer on notice about drinking too much.
Student: We want to do the math, take his body weight and the number of ounces he drank, and see how they stack up.

GROUP THREE
DuBose: So how are you going to start off? I'd say you don't want to emphasize the drinking, but the intent to cause harm.
Student: Hitting someone on the head with a heavy bottle will unquestionably inflict harm. The medulla sits right at the lower portion of the brainstem, just where the bottle would likely hit.
DuBose: Good science, but don't bring it into your opening remarks! What would you say about Jake if you wanted to create sympathy for him?
Student: You want to make the point that he's an innocent victim.
Student: You could say that he had a family, he was looking forward to his future, and now it's gone.
DuBose: Yes, Jake was a man with a whole life ahead of him.
[Student repeats DuBose's words.]
DuBose: No, you can't just take my words! You need to come up with your own!
Student: But yours are so good!
DuBose: What emotions do you want to elicit from the judge? Sympathy for Jake or rage at Dozer? Let's try rage. When I come back, I want to hear an opening statement with lots of anger.

GROUP FOUR
DuBose: This assignment is set up in a way that you can argue both sides. The talent, the skill, is to turn the facts to your advantage. Reading a case is hard when you have to go back and forth and tease out the order of events. What I like about this case is that you can see the fact pattern clearly. Okay, Jenny, give me your opening remarks. You're a smart kid, nail it for me.
Jenny: I'm looking for a word that's stronger than “hit.” Saying Dozer “hit” Jack with the whiskey bottle doesn't convey the violence involved.
Student: How about “smashed.”
Student: Or “clobbered.”

[The bell rings. DuBose stands at the front of the classroom. As students pass her, she tells each one, “Good job. Take it easy.”]

Mock court and judge's verdict>>