Mock Trial Jury Splits on Oswald’s Guilt in Assassination

A mock trial jury on Tuesday didn’t come any closer to closing the book on questions about Lee Harvey Oswald, splitting 7 to 5 on whether he killed President John F. Kennedy.

The two-day mock trial presented by the American Bar Assn. involved testimony from witnesses portrayed by actors, computer animation and enhancement of the home movie made in 1963 as Kennedy was shot to death in Dallas.

The “verdict” was reached Tuesday afternoon after two hours of deliberation--an hour longer than originally allotted.

“Obviously the jury didn’t deliberate until it reached a unanimous verdict,” said Theodore Tetzlaff, chairman of the ABA Special Litigation Section that presented the event. “But we had quite an exciting trial, and I think everyone learned how the technology of the 1990s can be applied to what we do.”

Because of the brevity of the trial, there were time constraints on evidence presentation and rebuttal. The purpose was not to come up with a definitive verdict but to demonstrate advances in the art of lawyering, Tetzlaff said.

Oswald, a former U.S. Marine who lived in the Soviet Union for a time, was determined by the Warren Commission to have been the sole assassin. He was slain shortly after his arrest.

The brief presentation of evidence did not explore theories of conspiracy or an additional gunman but rather whether Oswald was responsible for firing the fatal shot.