People of Verona:

With much sadness, I am compelled to formally request your attendance at an inquiry concerning the deaths of three of Verona’s children: Romeo Montague, Juliet Capulet, and Lord Paris, who were found dead in the Capulet family tomb.

The inquiry will be conducted in the following manner: A team of prosecutors and a team of defense lawyers will be allowed to question several people who were close to the deceased regarding their whereabouts over the days before their deaths. They will also interview several expert witnesses. They will present their findings at the inquiry and a jury will decide who to arraign (formally charge) and who to exonerate (formally pardon).

Inquiry Participants:

• The jury: weigh the evidence presented during the inquiry and reach a verdict.
• Chief investigators for the prosecution: lead the inquiry proceedings by presenting a case against one or more suspects
• Chief investigators for the defense: help defend suspects who are under suspicion of the chief investigators
• Expert witnesses: provide information for the investigators and jury on key topics
  • Psychologists
  • Experts on murder convictions and sentencing 
  • Crime scene investigators
• Defendants and eyewitnesses
  • Fate
  • Lord Capulet
  • Lord Montague
  • Nurse
  • Friar Lawrence
  • Apothecary
  • Benvolio
  • Balthasar
  • Lady Capulet
  • Prince

Your task:   You will be assigned a role from the list above. You are required to prepare for your role and you will bring notes and artifacts to the inquiry. At the inquiry, you will represent your assigned character.  Be prepared to ask and answer questions from the point of view of your character. 

Bear the following in mind as you prepare for the inquiry:

1. The chief investigators are responsible for running the inquiry, calling witnesses for testimony, and interviewing witnesses before the inquiry.
2. All of the participants, with the exception of the jury, may be questioned before or during the inquiry.
3. The jury may request additional information during the inquiry—they will have to enter their request with the chief investigators.
4. Artifacts such as posters, PowerPoint presentations, charts, crime scene evidence, and other artifacts may be presented at the inquiry.
5. Any participant will be allowed to contradict or corroborate the statements of any other participant.
6. Any participant may challenge any other participant to validate their stories.

 

Specific Information for Inquiry Preparation

Chief Investigators (prosecution and defense): Your team is responsible for each of the following tasks.

1. Before the trial, complete the following:

• Day 1: Read the list of trial participants and decide what you want to ask them. Create a list of questions to ask each of the witnesses. Begin interviewing witnesses. Take good notes!! Make sure you interview each witness before the inquiry.
• Day 2: Continue interviewing witnesses. Consider re-interviewing witnesses when new information appears. Connect evidence to each character’s motivations. Investigators for the prosecution must decide who to accuse of a crime and who to use as witnesses to help support your accusations—work with the criminal law experts to determine what charges you are bringing against the characters. Investigators for the defense must decide which witnesses are most likely to be charged with a crime and should accompany each client as they are questioned.
• Day 3: Make a plan for the inquiry. Decide the order of the witnesses you will call to the stand—everyone should testify except for the investigators and the jury. Prosecutors: Decide who you are going to accuse. Defense: Decide how to defend your witnesses.
• Day of the inquiry: Run the inquiry of wrongful death. Please make sure you call every expert witness, eyewitness, and defendant to the stand during the trial, as they have all prepared materials for you to use.

2. In general, you are trying to understand/uncover: What has this person done wrong and should they be brought to justice? Who might be trying to cover up their stories? Who might be working together to cover something up? Who is likely to lie? Who is likely to be honest? Use solid strategy to bring people to justice.

TURN IN: Interview questions and notes, trial script.

Criminal Law Expert: Your job is to determine which possible crimes have been committed and what an appropriate punishment might be. You will assist the chief investigators by researching and by providing expert testimony for the trial. Consider working with the psychologists and crime scene investigators to inform your testimony.

• Review the list of characters who will be interviewed and research the possible types of criminal convictions, including: first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, neglect, and abuse. Share that information with chief investigators.
• Create a list of potential penalties under modern law for each conviction. Share that information with the jury.
• If helpful, interview witnesses to learn more.
• Research the types of evidence necessary for a conviction (physical evidence, testimony, etc.). Share that information with the CSI team.
• Work with the CSI to figure out the types of evidence you expect to find at the crime scene, such as blood splatter, weapons, fingerprints, poison, etc.
• TURN IN: Detailed notes from your research, including a list of characters, potential charges, and potential penalties.

Psychologists: Your job is to determine whether characters’ behaviors and actions might be explained by psychological conditions such as PTSD or bi-polar disorder. Provide your research to the chief investigators.

You should research on the topics listed below and then interview witnesses and suspects to understand whether any of the following can explain the characters’ behaviors:

1. Bi-polar disorder
2. The relationship between age and responsible behavior
3. Stages of grief
4. Psychology of love and attraction
5. Psychology of gang affiliations

TURN IN: Detailed notes on the following psychological topics and connections between these topics and the various characters in the play.

Crime Scene Investigators: You will need to gather evidence to help the other teams put together exactly what happened during the days leading up to the various deaths in the play. Complete the following:

1. Recreate an exact timeline of the events of the tragedy, including days and times of any important events.
2. Provide artifacts for the inquiry, or provide detailed descriptions or drawings of key evidence.
3. Create diagrams or drawings of the crime scenes.
4. Communicate with the chief investigators. Tell them what you found so they can schedule your testimony for the inquiry.

TURN IN: Timeline, artifacts, drawings/diagrams, and notes from research.

Defendants: You probably won’t know whether you are a defendant or a witness until the investigators start asking difficult questions, so be prepared to account for your personal behavior in this tragedy.  At the inquiry, if you are identified as a defendant, you will present your testimony in character and remember that you are defending your actions. Consider creating alliances with others in advance to protect or reinforce your own testimony. You should be prepared to address the following concerns, though your questioners may ask more:

1. How would you describe you relationship with the deceased? How do you feel about them?
2. What actions did you take in the meeting, courtship, marriage, and death of these young people?
3. Were there any other people involved in this tragedy? What are your opinions of them?
4. Do you have any reason to believe that anyone meant to harm the deceased?
5. When was the last time you saw Romeo, Juliet, and Paris? What were they doing?
6. What motivates your actions throughout the play?

TURN IN: Notes marking key actions in the play, key quotations, and answers to the questions listed above.

Eye Witness Testimony: You probably wont’ know whether you are a defendant or a witness until the investigators question you, so be prepared to account for your personal behavior in this tragedy.  Present your testimony in character and remember that your character has personal opinions about what happened. Consider creating alliances with others to protect or reinforce your own testimony. You should be prepared to address the following concerns, though your questioners may ask more:

1. How would you describe you relationship with the deceased? How do you feel about them?
2. What actions did you take in the meeting, courtship, marriage, and death of these young people?
3. Were there any other people involved in this tragedy? What are your opinions of them?
4. Do you have any reason to believe that anyone meant to harm the deceased?
5. When was the last time you saw Romeo, Juliet, and Paris? What were they doing?
6. What motivates your actions throughout the play?

TURN IN: Notes marking key actions in the play, key quotations, and answers to the questions listed above.

Jury: Your job is to be an expert on the play. Know the characters and the plot so that you can tell if a character is lying. Complete the following in preparation for the trial:

1. Create a list of questions you would like to ask the expert witnesses, eyewitnesses, and defendants during the trial. Consider sharing that list with the investigators.
2. Create a spreadsheet you can use to record information from the testimony. How will you record key quotes? Facts?
3. Come to the inquiry with an understanding of how the chief investigators will run the proceedings. Interview them before the trial begins.
4. Interview the crime scene investigators and the criminal law experts on the last day of preparation so that you have an idea of what kind of evidence they will present. Make a record or a spreadsheet of their evidence.
5. Be an expert on the tragedy. Who are each of the defendants and eyewitnesses? What events led up to the tragic deaths? You should be able to pick out inconsistencies and lies told during the inquiry. Consider making each member of the jury an expert on one particular scene or one particular character.

TURN IN: Notes that each juror prepared before the trial, the notes you took during the trial, and a written statement explaining your verdict.

Scoring Rubric

Name:			Role:
	Exceeding: 90-100	Proficient: 80-89	Developing: 70-79	Limited: 60-69
Research and Interview Preparation Notes	Notes are thorough and represent sophisticated levels of thought. Level of preparation for the trial is substantial.	Notes have been prepared and represent a good depth of thought. Student is prepared for the trial.	Notes are limited, but applicable to the student’s assigned task.	Student prepares few notes.
Depth of knowledge: Character’s goals and perspectives	Uses detailed research to develop a persona and focus for their character. Convincingly conveys character’s motivations and personality. Work reflects a sophisticated understanding of plot and theme.	Uses research to develop their character. Some difficulty conveying character’s motivations. Work reflects a clear understanding of plot and theme.	Student struggles to use research to develop the character. Character’s motivations are unclear. Work represents confusion about plot and theme.	Student has not used research to develop their character. Character’s motivations are unclear. Work demonstrates a lack of understanding about plot and theme.
Participation in Inquiry	Listens quietly during the inquiry, takes clear notes, and participates fully and appropriately according to their assigned role.	Listens quietly, participates according to their assigned role, and takes some notes.	Participation in inquiry is limited. Takes some notes.	Does not participate in the inquiry. Distracts others during the inquiry.