Mock Trial Step-by-Step: Opening Statements

0:02 The opening statement is the lawyer's first opportunity to tell the judge what they think about the case - what their theory is, what evidence they expect the judge will hear, and, generally, advise the court of how they see things unfolding in the case The opening statement includes an explanation by the lawyers to the judge of what evidence they expect to call, which includes both documents or exhibits they might introduce And also witnesses who the judge might hear from, and what the lawyers expect those witnesses to say All right, and do you wish to make an opening statement? Defence counsel: Yes, thank you Okay, go ahead Good afternoon, Your Honour My name is Bigford, first initial "J" Your Honour, this is a case of mistaken identity

0:50 On the evening of March 10, 2010, our client, Donovan Tisi, was at his local recreation centre playing pickup basketball and spoke to the youth leader of the centre about post-secondary and scholarship information He was not in the alley when Mr. Williams was assaulted and robbed Our client, Mr. Tisi, is a 16-year-old youth in Grade 10 While was convicted of shoplifting 18 months ago, he has put his life in order and is on the right path Mr. Tisi has a part-time job, he is doing well in school he is looking into going to college for technology and applying for scholarships He also goes the homework club and plays basketball three times a week at his local recreation centre It is anticipated that Mr. Tisi will say he wouldn't assault and rob another youth, and jeopardize his future.

1:37 Today, you will hear from two defence witnesses: Donovan Tisi and Stephen Wong We anticipate that Mr. Tisi will describe that on the night in question, at about six o'clock PM, he and his friend, Dwayne Dirks, left his apartment because he was upset about not being able to buy a new pair of basketball shoes When prompted by his friend to steal the shoes from the store, Mr. Tisi declined, because he didn't want to jeopardize his part-time job, and decided to do something constructive by spending the evening playing basketball at the local recreation centre We will also hear from Mr. Tisi that during the evening, he spoke to the youth leader of the recreation centre about different college courses and scholarships And at about 8:30 p.m., he left the recreation centre by himself and walked straight home

2:22 Finally, Mr. Tisi will describe to the court that about a month later, a police officer knocked on his apartment door, and told him he was under arrest for assault causing bodily harm, and robbery The officer then picked up a pair of basketball shoes outside of Mr. Tisi's apartment building, and not inside his actual dwelling, and didn't bother to ask Mr. Tisi about them We anticipate that Mr. Tisi he will say he had never seen the shoes before Our second witness, Stephen Wong, will explain that on the night in question, he was working at the recreation centre, and spoke to Mr. Tisi about information on college courses and scholarships We anticipate that Mr. Wong will describe how Mr. Tisi's mannerism was during their discussion You also hear from Mr. Wong about his relationship with Mr. Tisi, and how often he sees him at the recreation centre

3:09 We also anticipate that Mr. Wong will say that Mr. Tisi has never displayed violent activity at the recreation centre Mr. Wong will also explain to the court his particular role at the centre All right, thank you Bigford: the defence will now call its first witness, Mr. Tisi, to the stand