Mock Trial Recap and Response

The first trial that we did as a class involved a young girl who accused her boyfriend of raping her. I think that the result of this trial was very accurate and it was the correct outcome. Even though I argued that he did not rape her, I do not think that the opposing side could have possibly believed that she was actually raped. Since our argument was much stronger we ultimately won the case. I think that the most important fact to consider in this case was the fact that there was no definite sign of a struggle. The fact that her shirt ripped was not conclusive enough to show that there was in fact a struggle. There were no bruises on the victim. I think that this was the most important fact because without a struggle there is no proof that he did any harm to her. It made it seem like she was falsely accusing him of something when she knew he did not do it. In order for the jury to reach an opposite outcome, the opposing side would have had to present stronger arguments that proved he actually raped her and caused her harm.

The second trial involved a young woman who accused her employee of sexually harassing her. I think that the result of this trial was correct even though there were clear examples of sexual harassment. The most compelling facts in this case were the examples of when he sexually harassed her and the jokes that he made. I personally believe that the jokes were not meant to harm her and were simply said to provoke laughter. The jokes were in poor taste but Murphy was a comedian and an established lawyer. I did not think that his actions were bad enough to cause him to be found guilty of sexual harassment and ruin his reputation as a lawyer. I think that this woman was very sensitive and overreacted to his attempts to be friendly. I think that in order to reach an opposite outcome the opposing side should have provided stronger arguments to show how Murphy’s comments directly affected her work performance.

 I think that the issues of rape and sexual harassment are very significant problems in the United States but are not problems here at DHS. There are no students who sexually harass and rape each other because people know that it is wrong and that they can get in a lot of trouble for it. Since people who attend DHS are taught to act properly and follow the law, the culture creates an atmosphere at DHS where people are able to feel safe. I think that these are topics that students at DHS should be informed about but I do not think they are problems here at DHS.