THE TRIAL OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE
The Trial of Napoleon Bonaparte
A Mock Trial for Social Studies
Developed by: Colin Welch, Stewart Secondary School
Stewart, B.C., Canada
The purpose of this trial is to judge the actions of Napoleon
Bonaparte. Was he a great leader and patriot, or was he a
power-hungry dictator? The year is 1815 and his last 100 days
as a general have ended on the fields of Waterloo. What are we
to do with this man? Our task is to examine his life and
produce a verdict on the charge of "crimes against humanity", a
charge later used against the Nazis after World War Two. Be
careful, because the Congress of Vienna - which is sponsoring
this trial - may not be completely innocent!
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THE CAST OF CHARACTERS/STUDENTS:
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Courtroom Personnel:
The Judge: ____________________________________________________
The Lawyer(s) for the Quadruple Alliance: _____________________
The Lawyer(s) for the Defense: ________________________________
The Court Clerk/Sheriff: ______________________________________
Witnesses for the Prosecution (representing the Quadruple
Alliance):
Prince Metternich of Austria: _________________________________
Czar Alexander 1st of Russia __________________________________
Lord Castlereagh of Great Britain: ____________________________
The Duke of Wellington of Great Britain: ______________________
A Prussian Nationalist Soldier: _______________________________
An anti-Napoleon French soldier who fought in Russia: _________
_________________________
A British Merchant and Trader: ________________________________
Others (see your teacher): ____________________________________
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Witnesses for Napoleon:
Napoleon: _____________________________________________________
The Chief Justice of the French Court: ________________________
A French School Teacher: ______________________________________
A loyal French officer who fought at Austerlitz: ______________
_______________
A loyal French soldier: _______________________________________
A French peasant: _____________________________________________
An Italian nationalist: _______________________________________
Others (see your teacher): ____________________________________
Preparation And Expectations For The Participants:
1) The chief responsibility of the judge and clerk/sheriff is
to be familiar with courtroom procedures. They will be
responsible for conducting the trial and making sure all
participants are following proper legal procedure. These two
members must complete, before the trial, a minimum two-page
summary of their respective duties in a trial. A summary can
be done by each person, but it is recommended that the
summary is completed jointly; this summary should follow the
suggested order of trial listed below. The judge and
clerk/sheriff are expected to cover what their characters
will say and how they will deal with lawyers and witnesses
during the trial. You can talk to the teacher for references
about these duties. This summary must be typed or neatly
written; it will be distributed to the rest of the class
before the trial to help facilitate the smooth operation of
the activity.
2) The lawyers must understand how each witness (their own or
the hostile witnesses) will contribute to their legal
strategy. Each legal team must complete an introductory
speech which outlines: the witnesses they will call in their
favor; the weaknesses of the opposing side's case; and the
major arguments of their own case. They will also write a
closing statement which: summarizes the arguments in favor
of their case; explains the weaknesses of the other side's
arguments and witnesses; and a recommendation on sentencing.
Lawyers should write this conclusion before the trial by
anticipating what will happen, but they should also leave
room on the conclusion to add details which may emerge
during the trial.
Finally, the lawyers will write up at least 6 questions for
each of their own witnesses which highlight their witnesses'
title and position, experience regarding Napoleon, and their
opinion about Napoleon. They will need to share their
questions with each witness, and reach a consensus on the
best questions. The lawyers will also need to create two or
three questions for their cross-examination of hostile
witnesses.
These questions should put the witness on the defensive and
reinforce the arguments of the cross-examining lawyers.
3) Each witness must prepare a 200 to 300 word summary of their
character. The summary should include their character's
upbringing, position, general political beliefs and opinions
toward Napoleon. Those witnesses who are not specific
historical characters may have to create much of their
character, as long as it is within reasonable limits and
nothing inaccurate about Napoleon is said. These nonspecific characters are important for what they represent
about Napoleon, not who they are in particular (sorry!).The
witness must also create 6 to 10 likely questions they would
face from their lawyers. An appropriate answer for each
question will be required.
These will be shared with their lawyers. Ask your teacher
for appropriate kinds of questions.
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Suggested Order For The Trial Of Napoleon Bonaparte
A) Opening the Trial:
1. The entry of the Judge.
2. The opening statement by the Clerk/Sheriff.
3. The entry of the prisoner.
B) Taking Pleas:
1. The introduction of the lawyers.
2. The reading of the charge against the accused.
3. The plea of the prisoner.
C) The Case for the Prosecution:
1. The opening statement of the prosecution lawyers.
2. The examination of the prosecution witnesses, with crossexamination and rebuttal.
D) The Case for the Defense:
1. The opening statement of the defense lawyers.
2. The examination of the defense witnesses, with cross
examination and rebuttal.
E) Summations by Counsel:
1. Defense Lawyers.
2. Prosecution Lawyers.
F) The Verdict:
1. The decision of the jury regarding guilt and sentencing.
G) Closing the Trial:
1. The exit of Napoleon and the Judge.
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NOTES TO THE TEACHER:
1. Like any mock trial, many things will have to be improvised.
Each witness, for example, may have to create many elements
of his or her character. Napoleon's witnesses, for example,
can be fictional, as long as they summarize Napoleon's
various achievements. As a teacher, you'll have to decide
for yourself about selecting roles, costuming, timing, etc.
This can be stressful, but it's also very creative and
rewarding!
2. You will need many resource books for this project. Ask your
librarian well ahead of time to pull all of the available
books. A particularly good resource, and one which helped me
create this mock trial, is Charlie and Cynthia Hou's The
Riel Rebellion: A Biographical Approach. The teacher's
guide, in particular, has some excellent ideas on the roles
of the Judge, the Clerk/Sheriff and the lawyers. Another
good legal resource is a Law 12 textbook, All About Law (3rd
edition). Chapter 7 is especially helpful with trial
procedure. Incidentally, even though this trial is
supposedly set in 19th century Europe, the courtroom
procedures I've employed are from modern Canadian criminal
law.
3. Preparation is very important; it can be tedious but it
makes a world of difference for the actual trial. You should
read through the expectation and suggested order pages with
the entire class and make sure everyone knows what to do. (A
limited "dry run" is recommended to familiarize everyone
with trial procedure). This and the library research may
take 3 to 5 one-hour classes. The trial and wrap-up should
take 2 classes.
4. I recommend that a very responsible and out-going student is
selected as the judge. You should also have strong students
acting as lawyers. They will have to be resourceful,
thorough and be able to interact with others (especially
when creating questions). Finally, avoid hassles -don't have
a separate jury, because they tend not to do much. Let the
whole class decide!