Student Sample – Mock Trial Brief
Good day, Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury. My name is ______________ and
today my colleagues and I will be prosecuting Dr. Jekyll for the criminal acts of assault,
bribery, and murder. Dr. Jekyll is a murderer, a mad scientist, and a threat to the entire
country of England; he needs to be locked up for good. Though his scientific
irresponsibility Dr. Jekyll created a dangerous potion that turns him into a completely
different person. When in his “alter ego” Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll commits many horrible
crimes. The defendants will try to persuade you to believe that Dr. Jekyll suffers from
schizophrenia, which is false. Moreover, even if it were true that Dr. Jekyll had a case of
schizophrenia, it would not make it acceptable for him to commit crimes. Today I will
prove that Dr. Jekyll is guilty of Mr. Hyde’s crimes.
First, I shall establish the charge of assault and battery. At about three o’clock on
a winter morning, Mr. Hyde was running down a street, while simultaneously a young
girl, no more than ten years of age, was also running down a cross street. At the corner of
these two streets, the two collided. Mr. Hyde continued on, trampling right over the poor
little girl, leaving her hurt and frightened. There is clear proof of this account on pages
two and three of Robert Stevenson’s novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On these pages, the
witness Mr. Enfield clearly recalls what he saw.
…All at once, I saw two figures; one a little man who was stumping along
eastward at a good walk, and the other a girl of maybe eight or ten who was
running as hard as she was able down a cross street. Well, sir, the two ran right
into one another naturally enough at the corner; and then came the horrible part of
the thing; for the man trampled calmly over the child’s body and left her
screaming on the ground.
In the above passage the witness clearly states that Mr. Hyde trampled a young girl,
leaving her hurt and frightened on the ground. The defense attorneys will ask you believe
that this incident was a simple accident, and that it could have happened to anyone. This
is true of the collision itself, but Mr. Hyde continued walking on, trampling the child. He
never stopped to assist the girl or even determine if she was injured badly. This proves
that Mr. Hyde (aka Dr. Jekyll) is guilty of assault and battery.
The second charge we bring to your attention and consideration is Hyde’s act of
bribery. Mr. Hyde, after trampling the little girl, was quickly brought back to the crime
scene by Mr. Enfield. There stood the young girl’s family, and instead of accepting the
charges, Hyde offers the family any amount of money, of which they choose ten pounds.
Evidence of this can be found on page five of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On this page
Hyde states himself, “If you wish to make a capital of this accident, I am naturally
helpless. No gentleman but wishes to avoid a scene.” Next, Hyde states, “Name your
figure.” After which he promptly retrieves money from his home. The defendant will
ague that this was a simple act of courtesy. No, Ladies and Gentlemen, a courteous act
would have been picking up and brushing off the little child that he had just trampled.
Here Hyde’s actual motivation is avoiding prosecution by bribing the child’s parents.
Finally, Dr. Jekyll is guilty of the horrible crime of murder for beating and
eventually killing Sir Danvers Carew. A maid looking out of her bedroom window
witnessed this brutal act by Hyde.
…And she was surprised to recognize a certain Mr. Hyde, who had visited her
master, and for whom she had convinced a certain dislike. He had in his hand a
heavy cane…The old gentleman took a step back, with the air of one very much
surprised and a trifle hurt; and at that clubbed him to the earth. And next moment,
the victim was under foot, and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the
bones were audibly shattered and the body jumped along the roadway. (Jekyll and
Hyde, by Robert Stevenson, pages 14-15)
This statement by the witness Molly Maid proves that Dr. Jekyll, through his alter ego
Mr. Hyde, savagely beat and stomped Sir Carew to death. The cane used by Hyde was of
a strong, heavy wood and still it was broken with the severity of Hyde’s brutal rage.
Police found half of the cane next to Carew’s limp body. The defense will try to
convince you that Hyde acted in self-defense. However, even if this were the case, Hyde
is only entitled to use reasonable force to protect himself. Therefore, even if Hyde acted
in self-defense, he had not right to beat and stomp a weak old man. Clearly, Ladies and
Gentlemen, this was a cold-blooded act of a man with no conscious. Hyde (aka Jekyll) is
guilty of murdering Sir Danvers Carew.
I would like to thank you all for listening today. Please consider all of the
evidence proving Dr. Jekyll guilty of assault and batter, bribery, and murder. Dr. Jekyll
is a mad scientist and a threat to our great country. Please put this dangerous man behind
bars so that he will not hurt any more innocent people. Again, thank you and good day.