Students Hold ‘Trial’ for a Case From Oz

The judge’s skinny, bare knees stuck out beneath his robe as he called the trial to order.

“You may be seated,” he barked. “I will now hear the case of the Witches vs. Dorothy.”

Lawyers for both sides presented their arguments. The charges: the murder of two witches and the theft of one magic hat. The defendant: a young woman from Kansas accused of wielding a house and a bucket of water to deadly effect.

The court: a classroom at the Conejo Valley Adult School, where students from grades 3 through 8 have spent the last month taking voluntary summer enrichment courses.

The not-for-credit courses covered such topics as art, math, science, law and public speaking. With the enrichment program ending today, about 60 students spent Thursday morning staging mock trials to test their newfound knowledge of legal terms and procedures.

Last week, they got some 11th-hour coaching from a recent Pepperdine law school graduate, said teacher Debbie Starr. But with the graduate cramming for next week’s bar exam, the students had to run the trials on their own.

To accommodate the large number of students, three trials were staged, with three different Dorothys and three sets of lawyers. The groups were forbidden to discuss the trial results with each other, lest they taint the jury pool.

First up were the older students, most entering grades 7 or 8. Prosecutor Tracey Nichols, 12, summoned the first witness.

“I would like to call the King of the Monkeys,” she said.

Dead silence, followed by furtive glances around the room.

“Do we have a King of the Monkeys?” Starr asked from behind her camcorder.

A juror was quickly drafted.

Other witnesses followed. The wicked witch’s family apologized for her poor upbringing, but said she wanted to be good. Auntie Em testified that Dorothy was a sweet child who would never hurt anyone. But in a stunning reversal for the defense, the Tin Man admitted that Dorothy intended to kill the witch because she had to get back to Kansas.

Closing arguments lasted less than 10 seconds each, jury deliberations, about two minutes. The verdict: guilty on all counts.

A brief argument broke out between jurors inclined to give Dorothy three years in prison and those advocating the death penalty. The more lenient sentence prevailed.

“How could you have won that trial?” defense attorney Tricia Smith, 13, asked her opponents after court adjourned.

Prosecutor Lizzie Milano, 13, just smiled, and said: “We’re better lawyers.”