You are under arrest! Following last year’s success with the premiere of The King’s Academy’s Elementary Mock Trial and Criminology unit, the O’Keeffe Pre-Law students look to continue this tradition with new crime scenes and cases. Last year, the O’Keeffe Pre-Law students lead elementary students through the ins and outs of a legal case, how a crime scene was investigated, and how the crime was carried through to trial. Last year’s case mainly focused on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with Goldilocks specifically being charged with Breaking, Entering and Trespassing. Through the countless hours of preparation and crime scene analysis by the elementary students, Goldilocks was found not guilty!

This year, the O’Keeffe Pre-Law students after weeks of pondering have written a challenging case for the elementary students to crack-Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack is charged with theft and Trespassing on the Giants’ property. While we all know these fairy tales and have heard them countless times as we have faded to sleep, by investigating the scenes of the crime and conducting a trial, elementary students get their opportunity to critically analyze and develop oral and written advocacy skills. Madison Evasius, a current senior and one of the mentors for the elementary students last year and this year, stated that “The Elementary Mock Trial and Criminology Unit helps elementary students develop critical thinking skills which we use constantly in everyday life. And the ability to help the elementary students develop these skills motivated me to produce and continue the program.”

In the coming weeks, O’Keeffe Pre-Law students will be leading the elementary students through forensics and criminology investigations into Fibers, Beans, Hair, Feathers, and Fingerprints. Throughout this entire process, the elementary students will be keeping all of their observations and findings in a forensic journal. The investigations and journal findings will crescendo into a report that the elementary students will write themselves and will be used at the subsequent Elementary Mock Trial. Following the Criminology unit, the elementary students will formulate direct-examination questions and cross-examination questions, as well as, Opening and Closing statements in order to see if Jack should be found guilty of his high crimes and misdemeanors.