Schoolchildren gather in Edinburgh for annual mock trial

At the end of an exciting day – the Edinburgh Schools MiniTrials participants.

 

CHILDREN from eight local secondary schools gathered at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court recently to take part in mock assault and drugs trials presided over by members of the Faculty of Advocates.

The annual Edinburgh Schools MiniTrials is held to help promote legal education in schools.

S5 and S6 pupils from Boroughmuir High School, Balerno High School, Firrhill High School, Holyrood High School, Leith Academy, St Augustine’s RC High School, St Thomas of Aquin’s, and Tynecastle High School participated this year.

Commenting on the event, Lord Mulholland, Chair of the MiniTrials Steering Group, said: “The purpose of the MiniTrials initiative is to make the legal system more accessible and hopefully inspire pupils from all backgrounds to consider a career in law. The success of this project in Edinburgh is something we are keen to replicate in other towns and cities across the country.”

He added that the initiative afforded pupils the chance to play a part in a mock trial and learn how the justice system worked, as well as the opportunity to analyse evidence and present a case, to improve their critical-thinking and public-speaking skills and build their confidence.

The MiniTrials project was launched in 2002 by Lord Kinclaven. The events are supported by legal volunteers from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, the Edinburgh Bar Association, the COPFS, and the Faculty of Advocates. In addition to inter-school events, schools also hold internal mock trials, using the guidance and materials available on the MiniTrials website.

“The annual Edinburgh schools’ event was as popular as ever with the pupils,” said Advocate Micheal Upton, Faculty’s MiniTrials Coordinator. “The MiniTrials Group is hugely grateful to all of the advocates, solicitors, teachers, court staff, and our chairman, Lord Mulholland, who gave their time to make it happen – and especially to advocates Safeena Rashid, Paul Harvey, and Mark O’Reilly for so judiciously presiding as the ’Sheriffs’.

"Any lawyer who’d like to volunteer for a couple of hours at future events can be sure to enjoy encountering the enthusiasm that the young people always bring to learning how to enact a criminal trial using the MiniTrials materials.  If you are interested, do by all means contact us at minitrialsenquiries@gmail.com," he added.