How to Use The Judge Jimmy Game to Teach Online Critical Thinking

Gavel Trial Rules of the Judge Jimmy Game

The following rules will be applied to all in court sessions during the semester. Participating counsels will discuss and agree on all items under consideration before the assigned court date.
1. Prosecution and Defense Counsel will know who will be witnesses beforehand. Witnesses will be evenly distributed (no more than three for each side), and these witnesses will be “coached” by Judge Jimmy as to their role in the case. In other words, counsels will not know the “truth” unless they use interrogatories (questions) to get the information from the witnesses. These questions will all occur during the moot court session.
2. Said Witnesses will be chosen from the class population beforehand. These students will receive credit for their participation. They will be “evaluated” for their adherence to the “truth” as given by the judge and by their ability to realistically portray the character in the specific case at hand.
3. Two cases will be tried on appointed “court dates” (class sessions). Each “mock trial” will last approximately one hour and fifteen minutes each.
4. There will be a fifteen-minute “recess” between trials on trial night.
5. The Jury (selected beforehand by the judge) will decide all cases. The “winning” counsel will receive additional credit.
6. All evidence gathering will be conducted under the “reasonable man/woman theory.” This theory will be discussed by counsel for both sides and negotiated with the court during the evidence gathering (research) phase before the assigned court date.

Game The following are Court Procedure Rules for the Judge Jimmy Game:
TRIAL PROCEDURE

Each trial, civil or criminal, has separate parts that usually follow in the same order. After preliminary instruction from the judge to the jury, a trial begins with the opening statements by the attorneys. The plaintiff’s attorney gives his opening statement first, followed by the defendant’s attorney. These statements are meant simply to tell the jury what each side intends to prove or disprove by the evidence. Lawyers’ statements are not considered as evidence.
The second part of the trial is the presentation of the evidence. Again, the plaintiff (in criminal cases, the State of California) goes first and calls witnesses to testify under oath. This process is called direct examination.
After the plaintiff’s attorney questions the witness, the defendant’s attorney asks questions on cross-examination. If the witnesses have any documents, photographs or other physical objects that help to prove the facts of the case, they may be introduced into evidence and shown to the jury.
In some cases, a witness may be unavailable and may have answered questions in a deposition prior to the actual trial. These questions and answers may be read to the jury as evidence to be considered. Occasionally, depositions are videotaped for convenience of the jury and the court. The procedure of direct examination and cross-examination will continue with each witness until the plaintiff finishes presenting proof and rests plaintiff’s case.
Defense counsel presents evidence by questioning witnesses and introducing physical objects if there are any. The defense conducts the direct examination and the plaintiff conducts the cross-examination. The defendant will also rest when counsel has finished presenting defendant’s case. The plaintiff may then present more evidence, but only to disprove any new evidence brought out by the defendant and not already covered by the plaintiff’s witnesses. This is called rebuttal.
When the plaintiff and defendant have both rested, the attorneys for each side present their closing arguments. The purpose of this part of the trial is to present the jury with each party’s interpretation of the evidence and how the law should govern the jury’s decision. As is true with the opening arguments, in civil cases, the plaintiff’s attorney goes first. In criminal cases, the defense attorney goes first. The other attorney then makes argument. In civil cases, plaintiff’

Here come the judge! Judge Jimmy Court Rules of Procedure

I. As the judge enters the courtroom, the Bailiff or Clerk of Court shall require all present to rise and stand. At the commencement of jury trials, when the judge has reached the bench, the Bailiff or the Clerk of Court shall say “Hear ye! Hear ye! The Circuit Court for the County of _______ is now open. Silence is commanded.” All shall be seated and the business of the court shall proceed.
II. In recessing, the judge shall announce: “The court is now in recess,” or the equivalent.
III. The flag of the United States shall at all times while court is in session be displayed at, on, or in close proximity to the bench, or on standard to the right of the judge.
IV. In the courtroom, beverages except as provided by the court, food and gum chewing are not allowed. Hats of any type are not permitted to be worn in the courtroom. Coats not worn are to be placed on the coat racks located outside of the courtrooms. Newspapers are not to be read during court proceedings. Feet are not to be placed on chairs or benches. Silence is to be maintained and their caregiver should immediately remove noisy or restless children.
V. Witnesses shall be examined from a position at the counsel table except when handling exhibits unless a lectern is provided by the court, in which case the examination shall be either from the position at the counsel table or the lectern. Persons examining witnesses may either stand while examining a witness from the counsel table or remain seated. In no case shall a witness be crowded during examination.
VI. When a lawyer or party is addressing the jury, he or she shall not crowd the jury box.
VII. Individual voir dire is prohibited except upon prior approval of the presiding judge.
VIII. During examination of jurors on voir dire, the lawyer or party conducting the examination shall, insofar as practical, use collective questions, avoid repetition and seek only material information.
IX. During trial, no lawyer or party shall exhibit familiarity with witnesses, jurors or opposing counsel and generally the use of first names shall be avoided. In jury arguments, no juror shall be addressed individually or by name.
X. Witnesses shall be examined with courtesy and respect, and their good faith presumed until the contrary appears.
XI. The swearing of witnesses shall be an impressive ceremony and not a mere formality.
XII. During jury trials, objections to questions or evidence shall be made sole

Blackboard/WebCT Interface Judge Jimmy Game Jury Instructions
Now that you have heard all of the evidence and the argument of counsel, it becomes my duty to give you instructions of the court concerning the law applicable to this case.
It is your duty as jurors to follow the law, as I shall state it to you, and to apply the law to the facts as you find them from the evidence in the case. You are not to single out one instruction alone as stating the law, but must consider the instructions as a whole. Neither are you to be concerned with the wisdom of any rule of law stated by me.
________________________________________
Court’s Instruction No. 1
Regardless of any opinion you may have as to what the law is or ought to be, it would be a violation of your sworn duty to base a verdict upon any view of the law other than that given in the instructions of the court, just as it would be a violation of your sworn duty, as judges of the facts, to base a verdict upon anything other than the evidence in this case.
In deciding the facts of this case, you must not be swayed by bias or prejudice or favor as to any party. Our system of law does not permit jurors to be governed by prejudice or sympathy or public opinion. Both the parties and the public expect that you will carefully and impartially consider all of the evidence in the case, follow the law as stated by the court, and reach a just verdict regardless of the consequences.
This case should be considered and decided by you as an action between persons of equal standing in the community, and holding the same or similar stations in life. Each party is entitled to the same fair trial at your hands [, and a corporation [city, unit of government] is entitled to the same fair trial as an individual]. The law respects all persons equally, and all persons [, including such corporations,] stand equal before the law and are to be dealt with as equals in a court of justice.
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Court’s Instruction No. 2
As stated earlier, it is your duty to determine the facts, and in so doing you must consider only the evidence I have admitted in the case. The term “evidence” includes sworn testimony of the witnesses, the exhibits admitted into evidence, stipulated facts and any admissions. [A stipulation is an agreed statement of facts between the parties, and you should regard such agreed statements as true.] Any evidence to which I sustained an objection or that I ordered stricken must of course be disregarded.

Game can be used with Moodle also. Fictional Characters for the Judge Jimmy Courtroom Simulation

These characters were created with the help of my students. In fact, if you wish, you may allow students to create their own characters to use in the trials. This proves to be a fun activity, and students are allowed to discuss the biographies but not the “secrets.”
Evidence may also be created during this phase. For example, students are given the task of reasonably determining the concrete evidence in each trial and negotiating with opposing counsel as to the content and application of this evidence in the specific case. Once again, this allows students to learn about cooperation and strategy, as well as how to negotiate for advantage.
Examples of concrete evidence in the Simon DePooter Case would be: Simon’s earring; the bank’s employment policy handbook containing the item on “ostentatious articles of clothing;” the contract Simon may have signed upon being employed by the bank; any research that applies to the civil rights of DePooter or to the issue of sex discrimination.
Thus, each case should be discussed thoroughly by the class/family and instructor/parent, and all evidence and witnesses should be decided upon before assignment of the trial dates. This is very important in order to give your trials meaning and logical importance.

Buy the game at contempinstruct.com Here are sample bios for the Willy Mize trial (seen on the accompanying video):
Possible Characters for the Willy Mize Case (in class Mock Trial, Ethics Category)

I am a 22-year-old college student named Willy Mize, who basically came up with a product for students to be able to communicate with other students via the Internet. I made a website for the sole purpose of students being able to find as much information as they can about their upcoming teacher and being able to decide whether or not that teacher is compatible for the student.

I did not know that my website was going to damage several professional instructors' reputations. I made a product that was in demand by the student population.

Secret: My secret is that my stepfather, a horrible man, and a professor who raised me, would get his jollies by terrorizing me while doing my homework, and this professor verbally and mentally abused me. Now all I want to do is embarrass all the teachers I can just to make my stepfather pay for what he caused me while I was young.
________________________________________

My name is Professor Mona Donat, and I have been an English teacher for the past 15 years. I am the English department head. I currently teach English 205 to approximately 400 students. I am an advocate of free speech. The Website does not bother me at all. I believe strongly that the students have a right to express themselves. Although I was spoken highly about, if the student would have spoken negatively about my teaching style or other such behavior I would have evaluated the comment(s) and tried to adjust to what the students needed to make the class more effective.

My secret: My husband was in a terrible car accident and if it were not for the student’s dad, who just happened to be at the accident, I would have lost my husband. The student’s dad pulled out my husband from underneath a burning car. A full fuel tanker struck the car. The tanker's driver fell asleep at the wheel. The student’s work habits were excellent, and he was on the border of a "B" and an “A,” so I gave him an “A.” I remembered the student from the news because he was there as well. I was not actually at the accident, so I have no previous encounter with the student.
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I am Jonathan Broemhokee, a faculty member. Willie Mize was a student in my class, and I love him to little pieces. He always turned his homework on time to my class, which was a m

Sample Deposition
Bank of America

v. Deposition

Simon DePooter
Teller
555-55-2255
Bank of America


TC: Let the record reflect that this deposition proceeding commenced at 0900 hours, on August 4, 2003, at the offices of Calvo & Clark Legal Offices, Claremont California, pursuant to the authority attached hereto as enclosure.

Present at the taking of the deposition are:

Jennifer Crisostomo, Trial Counsel
Jose Deloera, Trial Counsel

TC: Let the record reflect that Mr. Goode is present as a witness for the prosecution in the forthcoming trial and charges in the case of Bank of America versus Simon DePooter.

John Robert Goode, civilian, was called as a witness for the prosecution, was sworn and testified as follows:


Direct Examination

Questions by the prosecution:

Q: Will you state your name please?
A: John Robert Goode.

Q: Are you currently employed?
A: No, I am retired.

Q: How old are you Mr. Goode?
A: I’m 70 years old.

Q: What age did you retire?
A: 58

Q: Where were you employed before you retired?
A: I was a computer technician for ITT Technical Institute

Q: Do you know Simon DePooter?
A: Yes I do.

Q: How do you know him?
A: He is my favorite teller at Bank of America. I always look for him when I go to the bank.

Q: What makes him your favorite teller Mr. Goode?
A: He is professional, he knows what he is doing, and he is extremely courteous to me. He even remembers his customers name if they come in enough like I do.

Q: What do you think of his appearance? Does he dress professional? Does he comb his hair?
A: Oh yes. Mr. DePooter is always neat and professional looking. I have never seen him looking unprofessional.

Q: What is your opinion, Mr. Goode, on a male teller that wears a single-stud earring?
A: Oh I believe that as long as that teller knows what he is doing, and is very pleasant with customers, and of course dresses proper, then what harm will a single earring do? Women wear two or more earrings sometimes, so why can’t a male be allowed one simple earring? Simon always dresses professional and a single earring won’t change my opinion on him. He’s a great young man with a lot of potential. Banks need to hire more people like him.

Q: So you don’t think that by Simon wearing an earring, he will turn away the older patrons at the bank?
A: Of course not. I am an older patron, and I love Bank of America for their customer service, n

How to Use the Great Speakers Section of the E-text

The Great Speakers Section is an important part of the instruction. Its purpose is to teach students how great arguers in history have developed their thinking to persuade and convince the American public on a variety of important issues affecting everyone. This section can be used in a variety of ways: 1. As a supplement to in-class lessons and lectures leading to an assigned essay or group project. 2. As a “discussion prompt” in order to get students thinking and writing about how argument is constructed. 3. Simply as an enjoyable “listening experience” to teach students how important it is to be able to “hear” arguments being delivered.

Here are some sample uses of this online site as a supplement to in-class lessons and lectures leading to an assigned essay or group project:

1. Have students choose their favorite speech and analyze it in terms of some argument focus (e.g., syllogism, picturesque language, logical structure, use of evidence, authorial expertise, or other method you choose).
2. Lecture about a comparison and contrast of two of these speeches, and then have students discuss or do a group project to compare and contrast two speeches they choose for some purpose (e.g., Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be compared and contrasted in terms of philosophical purpose and warrants connecting the claims to the evidence).
3. Have students analyze a selected or favorite speech in terms of its “aural” versus “written” impact. This helps students see how drama and delivery of a spoken argument can change the meaning and the emotional content of the words used.

Here are some sample uses of the Great Speakers Section as a discussion prompt:

1. Have students read a pre-selected or favorite speech and then post a discussion question on your WebBoard  or other online discussion forum. (If your school has no private WebBoard  installed, then you can use one of the many free sites and create your own).
2. Have students read a pre-selected or favorite speech and then have them argue the pros and cons of the topic under debate. Again, they can use the free bulletin board or a mailing list to do this as a group.
3. Choose two “dueling speakers” and have students pretend to be each of the debaters. They should study the way the speaker delivers his or her arguments and even how he or she sounds before taking on a novel argument topic. This can also be used for

How to Use the Great Trials Section of the E-text

The Great Trials Section is an excellent way to introduce students to the “Judge Jimmy Game” component of the learning and prepare them for the skills needed to be successful in the game. Its main purpose is to show students the way trials are conducted and how some of the greatest lawyers of history conducted themselves and argued their cases. This section can be used to: 1. Assign students (individually or as a group) to evaluate specific cases and trials for specific argumentative style, logic, questioning, and other key elements of courtroom technique. 2. Let students read the transcripts in class as a way to “hear” the trial and the oral arguments. 3. Let students conduct a “living drama” of the trial, as you assign different roles to each student and let them dramatize the trial for follow-up videotaping or other critiquing purposes

Here are some sample uses of this online Great Trials Section to evaluate selected cases and trials for specific argumentative styles, logic and questioning elements.

1. Have students compare and contrast two different trials that involve a conspiracy of some kind. Have them focus on elements of “proof and evidence” to show there was a conspiracy at work.
2. Tell students they must choose a trial for its excellent use of one of the following argumentative features:
a. Inductive or deductive reasoning.
b. Use of logic in questioning of witnesses.
c. Use of picturesque language.
d. Emotional appeals made to the jury.
3. Have students argue a different way they would have tried a specific case. Be certain they give specific questions and strategies they would have used to apply to specific elements in the trial.

Here is a sample use of the online Great Trials Section to let students conduct a “living drama” of the trial.

1. U. S. vs Cecil Price et al. (“Mississippi Burning Trial”).
a. Show the film Mississippi Burning and have students take notes as to the details of the case.
b. Assign Prosecution and Defense Counsels to act in the drama.
c. Assign key witnesses to act in the classroom trial drama.
d. Select evidence to be used in the courtroom drama.
e. Allow for “creative interpretation” by players in order to make the trial a reasonable length to fit your class length and schedule.
f. Perhaps assign other roles as well: bailiff, judge, reporters, jury, etc.

How to Use the Basic Types of Argument Section of the E-text (complements of Professor Jay VerLinden, Humboldt State University)

If you are using a print text on argument that teaches the various formal components of critical thinking, then this section can help you tremendously. All you need to do is assign students a review component that matches the topic in your text, and you have an excellent tutorial. You can then create an exam based on the information in this online section combined with the information in your print text. Or, if you wish, you can use the Basic Types of Argument Section as a complete unit and test students based on the material covered in these excellent tutorials.

Here are the topics covered in this online review section:

1. FORMAL LOGICAL STRUCTURE:
Syllogisms, Enthymemes, Categorical Arguments, Disjunctive Arguments, Conditional and Hypothetical Arguments

2. FORMAL VALIDITY REQUIREMENTS:
Formal Validity, Material Truth, Categorical Arguments, Disjunctive Arguments, Conditional and Hypothetical Arguments

3. VALIDITY AND INVALIDITY:
Categorical Syllogisms, Disjunctive Syllogisms, Conditional and Hypothetical Syllogisms

4. INFORMAL FALLACIES, SET #1
FALLACIES BASED ON THE CLASSICAL STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENTS:
Accident, Laudatory Personality, Reprehensible Personality, Guilt By Association, False Dilemma, Begging the Question

5. TOULMIN MODEL OF ARGUMENTATION:
Claim, Warrant, Backing, Grounds/Data, Verifiers, Modal Qualifier, Possible Rebuttal

6. INFORMAL FALLACIES, SET #2
FALLACIES BASED ON FORMS OF REASONING:
ad antiquitatem, ad crumenam, ad lazarum, ad novitatem, . Composition, Division, False Analogy, False Cause, False Criteria, False Sign, Hasty Conclusion, Hasty Generalization

7. INFORMAL FALLACIES, SET #3
FALLACIES BASED ON ADVOCATES' RESPONSIBILITIES:
Appeal to Ignorance, a priori, Complex Proposition, Complex Question, Extension

8. INFORMAL FALLACIES, SET #4
EVIDENCE BASED FALLACIES:
Ad nauseum, Appeals to Authority, Appeals to the People, Poisoning the Well, Self Evident Truths, Significance, Slippery Slope

9. LANGUAGE:
Characteristics of language, questionable uses of language.

10. INFORMAL FALLACIES, SET #5
FALLACIES BASED ON LANGUAGE:
Amphiboly, Equivocation, Figure of Speech, Hypostatization, Loaded Language, Question Begging Epithets, Special Pleading, Style Over Substance

11. INFORMAL FALLACIES, SET #6
REFUTATION BASED FALLACIES:
Appeals to Emotions, Appeal to

How to Use the Mission Critical Section of the E-text

(Note: Mission Control of Mission: Critical is headed by D. Mesher, a professor of English who has been teaching critical thinking at San Jose State University since 1988, and whose work on this project during 1996 was supported by a fellowship from SJSU's Institute for Teaching and Learning.)

This is another critical thinking option for those instructors who want a wider variety of tutorials for students to use. Again, instructors may base tests on the information covered in these tutorials or use the tutorials as a means of review for a text-based lesson. The purpose of the site is as follows:
Critical thinking is part of the transfer core curriculum recognized at all state-supported institutions of higher education in California. As might be expected, however, approaches to teaching critical thinking are as varied as the disciplines in which qualifying courses are taught. At San José State, for example, there are critical thinking courses in the departments of Communication Studies, English, History, Linguistics and Language Development, Philosophy, and Psychology; in addition, the critical thinking requirement is among those satisfied by special lower-division courses in American Studies and Humanities. We hope to make Mission: Critical flexible enough to be of use in as many of these diverse courses as possible. By relieving the classroom instructor of the necessity for drilling, often associated especially with deductive reasoning and fallacious appeals, use of Mission: Critical will allow him or her to concentrate on the more theoretical, conceptual, and practical issues and techniques which constitute the most efficient use of class time.
In order to evaluate and improve Mission: Critical, we are seeking the involvement of critical thinking instructors and their classes. Please contact Mission Control with any feedback, suggestions, or criticisms.

How to Use the Advertising Section of the E-text

This assignment will teach your students how to analyze modern advertising in terms of “the 4-Ps” and how to tell what an ad is claiming and how it makes an appeal. To assist you in your classroom lectures, you may want to directly download the following:
a. “How to Read an Ad” (PowerPoint)
b. “Claims” (PowerPoint)
c. “Alcohol and Youth Ads” (PowerPoint)
d. Storyboard form for movie ads (Acrobat Reader)
e. Ad Evaluation Forms (Acrobat Reader)
f. Ad Assignment (HTML link to online site)

How to Use the Peer Critique Rubric

This peer critique rubric can be used as a way to get your students to critique each other’s papers in a meaningful way. There are seventeen items on this checklist, and you can fine-tune it according to your personal teaching style and standards. Distribute copies in class for group work or you can email a copy to students as an attachment.