Activity 1.3.8 You Be the Judge

Purpose

To encourage teamwork, voice an opinion, and use persuasion skills

Materials

Handouts–

• (1) Case One
• (2) Case Two
• (3) Case Three

Time

1 hr

Method

This exercise requires groups of three or five. An uneven number of participants per group are important for voting purposes and engaging in the use of persuasion skills.

1. Give each group a case from the following pages to read and analyze.
2. Each group is required to act as a judge and jury for the case that is given to them.
3. Instruct participants to come up with a sentence to fit the crime for their case. All participants must agree on the same sentence and the lengths of time for each part of the sentence can be combined, e.g., two years probation with two years of community service.
4. The facilitator can write possible sentencing terms on the blackboard, e.g.,
   • Jail time
   • Probation
   • Community service
   • Counseling
   • Acquittal
5. After the verdicts are in, discuss the reasons for choosing a particular sentence.