Courses

College of Law

Summer Trial Institute (Trial Practice)

Course Number: 6850
Professor: Shawna Geiger
Credit Hours & Type of Credit: 3
Semester Offered: Summer
Required: No
Prerequisites: Evidence (unless waived by instructor under special circumstances).
Recommended Courses: Professional Responsibility strongly suggested.

Course Overview: Intense two-week “boot camp” version of Trial Practice that requires more than full-time participation (i.e., at least ten hours per day). Typically meets in August.

Course Materials: Thomas A. Mauet, Trials (2d ed. 2009) (ISBN 978-0-7355-7721-3 [Note: It is STRONGLY recommended that students read the entirety of Trials during the summer, before the Institute.] Thomas A. Mauet, Warren D. Wolfson & Stephen D. Easton, Materials in Trial Advocacy (7th ed. 2011) [Note: We may make arrangements for rental of the Materials book.]
Course Format: Lectures and demonstrations by faculty members. Simulated exercises and drills featuring portions of trials (e.g., voir dire, opening statement, direct examination, cross-examination, and closing argument). Jury instruction exercise. In the second week of Institute, each student tries a non-jury trial and (usually as a member of a two-student team) a jury trial.
Written Assignments: Jury instruction exercise. Motions and briefs in some exercises. Outlines submitted in advance of in-court exercises. Trial notebooks.
Type of Exam: No final exam per se. [Jury instruction exercise graded anonymously. Other assignments cannot be graded anonymously.]
Basis for Grading Student Performance: Students are evaluated and graded on their performance in trial-related exercises in class, on their motions and briefs, and on a jury instruction exercise. All instructors use the same grading scale.
Other Comments: Experienced trial attorneys from Wyoming (plus a few from elsewhere) make up the primary faculty for the Summer Trial Institute. The Institute is presented by the American College of Trial Lawyers, the American Board of Trial Advocates, and the College of Law.

Following in-court exercises, students will be critiqued by fellow students and faculty members.