Eight mock trials were held at the High Court, Wellington on the final day of PJSP’s 10-day Litigation Skills Programme in May. The training was attended by 32 participants from eight Pacific partner countries (Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, PNG, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu), and Faculty from Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Australia, and Aotearoa NZ. The mock trials provided an opportunity for course participants to put their learnings into practical action in a realistic courtroom environment.
Judges from the Faculty presided, and course participants performed various roles in both civil and criminal proceedings as the accused/defendant, witnesses, and legal counsel. Law students from the Victoria University Te Herenga Waka Pacific Law Students Association acted as Registrars. The photos below were taken at the mock murder trial of Joseph O’Neill, presided over by Judge Eddie Paul.
The trial centered on a hypothetical case in which the Crown alleged Mr O’Neill murdered his wife by shooting her on the porch of her stepmother’s house from his car window.
After the prosecution and defence counsel had presented their cases, which included the examination and cross examination of witnesses, Judge Paul provided detailed feedback on the performance of each counsel. Judge Paul said he was impressed with the quality of the litigators’ presentations and added that they should be mindful of the importance of leading with the Theory of the Case, using plain language, and avoiding asking witnesses leading questions.
His Honour acquitted Mr O’Neill, saying he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the identification evidence of Mr O’Neill was sufficiently reliable to enter a conviction.
Juleen Fatiaki acted as Crown counsel.
Sunia Fila acted as defence counsel.
Back row: Joshua Leung Wai, Tamiana Low, Sunia Fila.
Front row: Juleen Fatiaki, Judge Eddie Paul, and Student Registrar Sweta Goundar.