Donoghue v Stevenson

Donoghue v Stevenson

The Paisley Snail MiniTrial

To run your MiniTrial: –

decide who is to play which role – see the list of participants below,
decide on a timetable for the various stages of the trial – see below,
set out the room to resemble the approximate layout of a court – see the suggested layout below, and
follow the MiniTrial instructions (below) – which contains the dialogue and the “stage” directions you will need.

The Judge – a Senator of the College of Justice who sits on “the bench”.
Pursuer – the person who has brought the action into court and who is seeking an award of damages (an order for payment of money) in this case.
Pursuer’s lawyers – Senior and Junior Counsel (a QC and an advocate) instructed by a Solicitor on behalf of the pursuer.
Defender – the person against whom the action has been raised.
Defender’s lawyers – Senior and Junior Counsel (a QC and an advocate) instructed by a Solicitor on behalf of the defender.
Clerk of Court – who manages and administers the Court under the Judge’s direction.
Macer – who escorts the Judge and the witnesses – so that they are at the right place at the right time.
The Jury (12 jurors) – who are balloted from members of the public.
Witnesses – who are cited to attend court to give evidence.
Members of the Public – who sit in the public gallery.
Reporters / Media representatives – who can tell others what happened.

ROLES – for MiniTrial	Date:	Understudy or Assistant if required
1. The Judge
2. Pursuer’s lawyer(s)	Senior Counsel (QC)
	Junior Counsel
	Solicitor
3. Defender’s lawyer(s)	Senior Counsel (QC)
	Junior Counsel
	Solicitor
4. Clerk of Court
5. Macer
6. The Jury 1	2	3
4	5	6
7	8	9
10	11	12
7. Witnesses for Pursuer	1. The Pursuer
7. Witnesses for Pursuer	2.
8. Witnesses for Defender	1. The Defender
8. Witnesses for Defender	2.
9. Public / Reporters

TIMETABLE for 70 minute Trial : Stage	Starting time	Time allowed
1. Introduction and preliminary matters		10 minutes
2. Opening Speech by Pursuer’s Junior Counsel		3 minutes
3. Examination-in-chief of 1st witness for pursuer		4 minutes
4. Cross-examination		2 minutes
5. Examination-in-chief of 2nd witness for pursuer		4 minutes
6. Cross-examination		2 minutes
7. Junior Counsel for Pursuer reads Joint Minute etc		2 minutes
8. Opening Speech by Defender’s Junior Counsel		2 minutes
9. Examination-in-chief of 1st defence witness		3 minutes
10. Cross-examination		2 minutes
11. Examination-in-chief of 2nd defence witness		3 minutes
12. Cross-examination		2 minutes
13. Jury speech by pursuer’s counsel		6 minutes
14. Jury speech by defence		6 minutes
15. Judge’s charge		6 minutes
16. Jury retire and consider verdict		5 minutes
17. Jury announce verdict		3 minutes
18. Discussion		5 minutes

(Chambers / Judge’s room)

JUDGE
(sits on the Bench – a separate table perhaps)

------------------------------ The Bench ------------------------------

CLERK OF COURT
(sits in the well of the court at the head of the central table)

O WITNESS (stands in the Witness Box – a separate seat)	JURORS OOO (sit in the OOO Jury Box – OOO rows of seats) OOO
O MACER (sits near the witness box)

------------------------------- The Bar -------------------------------

(DEFENDER’S LAWYERS) / (PURSUER’S LAWYERS)

(Sit in rows at the bar of the court – a line of tables perhaps)

Row 1 Junior Counsel + QC / QC + Junior Counsel

Row 2 Solicitor + Client / Client + Solicitor

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC & REPORTERS
(sit in the public gallery – room)

WITNESSES – WAITING TO BE CALLED
(wait in the witness rooms / room)