Morton Fraser take children to court
Posted: Tuesday 7 February 2012
A group of primary school children ended up in court on Friday as they staged their own mock trial, sponsored by Morton Fraser LLP and Chamberlain McBain.
Lord Hope, the Deputy President of the Supreme Court, oversaw the final trials on Friday 3rd February (watch Friday's STV footage here http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/news/296256-schoolchildren-stage-mock-court-case-to-learn-about-justice-system/), after intermediary trials in December.
The 450 children from seven primary schools throughout Edinburgh took on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, court artists and reporters. The aim is for the schoolchildren to learn about the Scottish legal system so if they ever find themselves in court they know what to expect.
Lord Hope said: "I think we have a wonderful legal system in Scotland and I have always believed it needs to be understood by more people. I have been in favour of television in court ever since I was Lord President and the more people get to understand how our system works the better. That’s why it’s a good idea to start in schools. We are very keen that anybody who comes in to the court, jurors for example, knows what to expect and we can very easily put them at their ease."
Lindsey Cartwright, Partner with Morton Fraser, added: "This is a really exciting project which is designed to give the children an insight into how the legal system works, whilst keeping things relevant to their schoolwork. They were given the basics of the court case and had to use their own imaginations as to how to develop it into a case they could win. This involved story-writing, arithmetic, public speaking and research skills. The children even made their own robes for the occasion and had to source the material and design the robes from scratch. There was something for everyone in it and the enthusiasm that the children have shown has made the project really worthwhile."
If you would like to find out more about the mock trials contact Lindsey Cartwright.
