Photo By Maj. Keven Star | Soldiers from Camp Atterbury's Office of the Judge Advocate put on a mock trial with...... read more read more
CAMP ATTERBURY JOINT MANEUVER TRAINING CENTER, Ind. — In what was deemed frivolous litigation from the start, Camp Atterbury's judge advocate Maj. Charles Thorbjornsen declared a mistrial in the case of the Big Bad Wolf who attempted to sue Curly Pig for "attempted wolf cooking."
Friday morning, judge advocates here visited the East Side Elementary School to educate the children about the legal system through the presentation of a mock trial. This mock trial was part of the American Bar Association's worldwide initiative to support legal awareness. In support of the ABA mission, the JAG Corps has routinely sought local schools to benefit from the varied experiences of the JAG Corps officers. Camp Atterbury Staff Judge Advocate Lt. Col. Todd Liebman supported the initiative this year by coordinating with East Side's principal, Brooke Phillips.
The trial, inspired from the famed children's story of The Three Little Pigs, presented the case of Big Bad Wolf — also known as B.B. Wolf — v. Curly Pig. B.B. Wolf, played by student Cameron Moore, sued Curly Pig, played by student Mikala Lain, for the attempted "wolf cooking." Wolf also sought damages for his burned fur and emotional distress occasioned when he slid down the chimney of Pig's brick home to "visit" her, and was whooshed out of the chimney by a steaming cauldron of boiling water located at the bottom of the chimney.
Through his attorney, played by student Deanna Smith, Wolf claimed Pig was attempting to cook him. Pig, through her attorney, played by student Peyton Pritchard, denied the allegation. Wolf testified that there was a steaming cauldron at the bottom of the chimney and next to it was a cookbook which was open to Wolf Stew.
Pig testified that she was only making tea and the teapot must have accidentally whistled the pages from tea to stew. Pig called a witness, "Jayne Smith," played by Paige Marco, who testified she sold bricks to Pig for building her home and how she sold straw and sticks to Pig's brothers for building their homes, which in turn were blown down by Wolf who subsequently ate them.
The judge, Thorbjorensen, ruled this latter testimony to be hearsay, and after the evidence was heard and closing arguments made, he turned the case over to a jury of 12 students from the fourth and fifth grades to decide the case.
While the jury deliberated, Thorbjorensen explained to students the basics of trial procedures and about the different types of trials that are presented in courts. After more than 10 minutes of deliberation the jury was brought back in front of the judge by the bailiff, played by Wyatt Kinney. The jury announced they were hopelessly deadlocked. Before Thorbjornsen declared a mistrial and dismissed the case, he asked the members of the audience — some 200 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders — for their vote on the case. Thorbjornsen concluded the presentation by taking 15 minutes for questions from the audience, during which the students asked questions ranging from jury selection in civil and criminal cases to how judges are picked.
Other Camp Atterbury judge advocates in attendance included Maj. Keven Star, Capt. Daniel Bagley, Capt. Gary Levine, and legal non-commissioned officer Sgt. Bryan Whitaker. One Soldier, Bagley, returned that afternoon to read to students in the kindergarten through second-grade classes and answer questions the children had about the military and public service. Bagley read patriotic-themed books, one of which was Marc Brown's "Arthur meets the President" and he explained the meaning of patriotism to the class.
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2009 14:17 |
| Story ID: | 34171 |
| Location: | CAMP ATTERBURY, IN, US |
| Web Views: | 185 |
| Downloads: | 147 |
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