Put a real historical figure - or a real government - on trial using the actual primary sources historians have: the Princes in the Tower, the Boston Massacre soldiers, Louis XVI, George III, the Triangle Shirtwaist factory owners, the 1840 Opium War censure motion, and Socrates. No claim counts unless a lawyer quotes an actual document, and where no eyewitness survives, the document's own author takes the stand to defend what they wrote, when, and for whom. Up to three courtrooms try the same case, then compare verdicts - same evidence, different readings.
50 minutes
1 class period
7 seat types - every student holds one
7 ready-to-run cases
1 courtroom, 1 courtroom, solo counsel, 2 courtrooms, 2 courtrooms, solo counsel, 3 courtrooms, 3 courtrooms, solo counsel
6 objectives
11 standards aligned
Pick any case when you create a session - same rules, different text. Every room in your class can run the same case, then compare outcomes.
Aligned to the CASEL framework's core competencies. These are the SEL skills students actively practice while playing.
Click any role to see their background and what they are trying to accomplish.
Your Rules Card lists the four objections you may hear - Speculation, Not in the sources, Badgering, Relevance - and how to rule on each. You have 30 seconds to rule on any objection. Raising an objection always costs the objecting side one token, whatever you decide. If you overrule it, that side burns one EXTRA token. If you sustain it, there is no extra cost. If you say nothing, the objection lapses at 30 seconds - play continues as if overruled, and no extra token burns on top of the one already spent to raise it. After every witness, say two things to the room: any answer that no played card backs up, and the one answer you believed most. You may end a segment early if your room is clearly finished, but you can never add time - and you may NOT end the deliberation or verdict segments early. During deliberation you draft a 2-3 sentence opinion.
You handle the OPENING statement and the DIRECT examination of Witness 1. Your side has 4 exhibit slots - to enter an exhibit you must quote the source exactly, and the app checks it against the quote bank. Your side has 3 objection tokens, and a losing (overruled) objection costs one extra. If your witness stonewalls with 'not in my knowledge,' you get ONE 'refresh recollection' per witness to point them to a specific passage. Exhibits may be entered during speaking segments (openings, examinations, and closings) - never during prep or deliberation.
You handle the CROSS examination of the defense's witness and the CLOSING statement. You draw from the same 4 exhibit slots and 3 objection tokens your side shares, and the same one-refresh-per-witness rule. Exhibits may be entered during speaking segments (openings, examinations, and closings) - never during prep or deliberation.
You handle the OPENING statement and the DIRECT examination of your own witness. Your side has 4 exhibit slots (quote the source exactly to enter one), 3 objection tokens (a losing objection costs one extra), and one 'refresh recollection' per witness. Exhibits may be entered during speaking segments (openings, examinations, and closings) - never during prep or deliberation.
You handle the CROSS examination of Witness 1 and the CLOSING statement, drawing from your side's shared 4 exhibits, 3 objection tokens, and one-refresh-per-witness rule. Exhibits may be entered during speaking segments (openings, examinations, and closings) - never during prep or deliberation.
Your Dossier has 6 fact cards. When you are questioned on the stand, perform your answer out loud, in character, in your own words - then tap the card that backs it up. Only a played card enters the record, so only carded facts count; if no card covers a question, say 'not in my knowledge.' You can play cards ONLY while you are on the stand during your own examination (and, in a Two-Day session, the recall segment). Off the stand you cannot play cards; instead you may write up to 3 'I would have said...' contradiction notes where your dossier disagrees with a claim, and these surface in the debrief. Some of your cards help the prosecution and some help the defense, so both sides may want to call you.
The standard of proof is on your charge sheet - it is different in different cases. During every segment, before its clock runs out, you move a private leaning slider (-3 to +3) and log up to four pieces of the record that moved you, or 'nothing moved me.' To submit your final verdict you must cite at least 2 items from the record.
One click on the teacher dashboard prints a dossier for every role - background, goals, key facts, and their confidential briefing - plus the primary-source packet and a vocabulary sheet. Print them, or save as PDF, so each student reads their role on paper instead of huddling around one screen. The app still runs the votes and the action; the paper just carries the reading.
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