Topic: Mock Trails and

Difference Between the Mock

Trails and Moot Court

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Table of contents:

1.Introduction
2.Definition of Mock Trails
3.The two ways of Mock Trails
4.Elements of Mock Trails
5.The game of alibi
6.The False Evidence
7.Third Degree
8.Difference Between Moot court and
Mock Trails
8.1. Structure and Format
8.2. Skills Emphasis
8.3. Purpose and Experience
9.Conclusion
10. Phonetics

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MOCK TRIALS AND DIFFERENCIATE BETWEEN THE
MOCK TRAILS AND MOOT COURT

Introduction
A mock trial differs from a moot in that it is a mock jury-trial, with jury and witnesses, not an
argument on law. The proceedings may be somewhat humorous; witnesses may dress themselves up, and
court and counsel wear robes (if procurable). The audience may consist of non-lawyers, who, of course,
come simply to be entertained. Since the trial is unrehearsed, it requires a high standard of forensic ability
on the part of the student “counsel”; and the proceedings should either be leavened by humors or present
an intellectual problem of the “whodunit” type.

Definition of mock trails

Mock trial simulates trials conducted at the trial court level. Participants take on various roles,
including attorneys, witnesses, and jurors, engaging in a more comprehensive examination of case facts.
In mock trials, students present both sides of a case and enact the entire trial process from opening
statements through closing arguments. This format often requires the participants to demonstrate skills in
cross-examination, direct examination, and jury persuasion.

The two ways of mock trails

There are two ways in which the “case” may be got up. It may have been enacted beforehand by the
witnesses, so that they testify to what they have actually witnessed; alternatively, the organizer of the
mock trial may simply have given to each witness a statement of his evidence, which he or she is
expected to remember. The former method requires some effort, but it makes the case more realistic when
it comes to cross-examination, and it enables the preliminary proceedings, including the interviewing of
witnesses and briefing of counsel, to be done by student “solicitors”. The actual trial is, of course, a
valuable experience for budding advocates who take part in it as counsel.

Elements of Mock Trails

It is a good plan to set the scene of the case (for example, the murder) in some place known to the
audience (such as the college or law school). Alternatively, the case can be modeled upon an actual case
in one of the Trials Series. Try to depart from your model trial just sufficiently to prevent counsel using
the same speeches and the same questions to witnesses. Keep the number of witnesses down to five or
six. See that the legal participants have attended real trials in order to learn how things are done; the clerk

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of the court in particular should know what the job involves. If you are at all doubtful about the success of
the evening, do not advertise the event outside your law society.

The game of “Alibi”

As another diversion from the serious business of moots, the students’ law society may like to try one
evening the game of “Alibi”. The gathering divides into groups of four, each group being composed of
two prosecuting counsel and two defendants. It is assumed that the two defendants have committed some
crime at a stated time—say between 10 and 11 pm last Wednesday—and have set up an alibi. They go out
of the room for not more than 10 minutes in order to prepare their story. They then return, one at a time,
for cross-examination by the prosecuting counsel. Counsel’s aim is to break down the alibi by asking
unexpected questions and so getting contradictory answers from the two defendants. After the two cross-
examinations, lasting perhaps 10 or 15 minutes in all, the two counsel put their heads together for a
minute, and then one of them addresses the rest of the gathering, who have acted as jury, and submits that
the alibi has been broken down because of this and that discrepancy. The jury signify their verdict by a
show of hands, the opinion of the majority being taken. A master of ceremonies is needed to dispatch
successive pairs of defendants out of the room, in order to keep the game going continuously. Would-be
lawyers will find this game not at all a bad test of their powers of advocacy. No training for would-be
defendants is intended .

The” False Evidence”

A somewhat similar game is called “False Evidence”. Three masked “defendants” are interrogated on
their day-to-day lives by two counsel. One of these defendants has assumed a completely false name and
occupation, and it is the task for the jury to decide which. Each defendant must submit to counsel a week
in advance a couple of hundred words containing a life summary, and this enables counsel to prepare their
questions. Each defendant calls a witness who has also submitted a statement with the facts of his or her
life, particularly where that life crosses that of the defendant. In the case of the innocent parties they must
have known each other for at least two years. The witness is not in court during the interrogation of the
defendant, and counsel try to shake the evidence and establish discrepancies between the defendant and
the witness. Each defendant and witness are given a limited time—say 15 minutes altogether—in the box.
The judge sums up briefly to the jury, who consider and announce their verdict. The imposter then
declares himself, and it is interesting to see if the judicial process has succeeded in ascertaining the truth
of the matter. It may be mentioned that the written statements do not contain sufficiently specific
information to enable counsel to identify who the person is. Two or three trials may be held on the same
evening.

“Third Degree”

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 Yet another variant is “Third Degree”. One member of the party is selected as the defendant: who is
told the outline of an alibi defense and has to fill in the details impromptu under questioning. For
example, the defendant may be told that the alibi relates to a period between 2 and 5 pm last Thursday,
when she left the house after lunch and took a train to a named neighboring town and visited a friend in
time for tea. The defendant on being told this alibi must immediately amplify it under questioning, and
can be “gonged” for undue hesitation in answering or for any vagueness in answering (she must not say “I
think so” or “that is probably what I would have done”). She can also be gonged for self-contradiction.
The object of the rest of the company, who ask questions for 15 minutes, is to establish a self-
contradiction. Leading questions may be asked: for example, if the defendant says that she was not
carrying a raincoat, she can later be asked whether the host put her raincoat on a peg in the hall or
somewhere else? If the defendant is gonged, or runs for the allotted time without mishap, another outline
alibi can immediately be supplied to another volunteer defendant. A beauty of this game is that it can be
played by two players only, and it may help you to bring out unsuspected ability as an implacable
interrogator .

Definition of Moot Court and Mock Trial

To delineate the differences, it's essential to define each concept. Moot court typically involves
appellate court proceedings where participants—usually law students—argue motions and present legal
arguments based on hypothetical cases. This format usually revolves around legal theories rather than the
factual circumstances surrounding a case. Participants are evaluated on their ability to construct coherent
legal arguments, knowledge of the law, and ability to persuade.

Conversely, mock trial simulates trials conducted at the trial court level. Participants take on various
roles, including attorneys, witnesses, and jurors, engaging in a more comprehensive examination of case
facts. In mock trials, students present both sides of a case and enact the entire trial process from opening
statements through closing arguments. This format often requires the participants to demonstrate skills in
cross-examination, direct examination, and jury persuasion.

Difference Between Moot Court and Mock Trial

In the realm of legal education, opportunities for students to engage in practical experiences that
replicate courtroom scenarios are invaluable. Two popular formats that facilitate these experiences are
moot court and mock trial. Although they may seem similar at first glance, significant distinctions exist
between the two, extending to their structures, purposes, and the skills they emphasize. Understanding
these differences is crucial for law students seeking to enhance their advocacy skills and legal acumen.

Structure and Format

Moot court and mock trial differ significantly in their structural formats. Moot court settings typically
consist of a panel of judges who evaluate the arguments presented by participants. The focus is

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predominantly on legal reasoning, persuasive writing, and oral advocacy regarding specific legal issues.
Participants often prepare written briefs, which outline their arguments and relevant laws, and defend
those positions during oral arguments.

In contrast, mock trial relies on a more elaborate simulation of the trial process. Students prepare not
only legal arguments but also witness testimonies, exhibit evidence, and prepare strategies for jury
engagement. The format includes more dynamic elements such as witness examination, which adds
complexity. In mock trials, judges oversee proceedings similarly to moot courts; however, juries may also
be involved, underscoring the necessity for participants to connect with a lay audience.

Skills Emphasis
The skill set cultivated through moot court and mock trial reflects their distinct objectives. Moot court
emphasizes the development of research and writing skills, as students must engage deeply with appellate
law and legal precedent. Effective oral advocacy is paramount, as participants must convincingly
articulate their arguments to judges who often probe with challenging questions. Participants gain
experience in the appellate process, preparing them for potential careers in appellate advocacy or
scholarly legal work.

In contrast, mock trials hone a broader range of trial advocacy skills. Participants learn to think on
their feet during witness examinations and cross-examinations, cultivating quick decision-making
abilities and adaptability in dynamic courtroom scenarios. The format encourages creativity in
storytelling, as students must construct persuasive narratives that resonate with a jury. Furthermore, mock
trials foster teamwork and communication skills, as participants frequently collaborate with co-counsel
and strategize presentations.

Purpose and Experience

The overarching purpose of moot court and mock trial differs as well. Moot court is primarily
designed to enhance students' understanding of appellate law, legal theories, and the intricacies associated
with appellate advocacy. It prepares students for roles as legal scholars, appellate lawyers, or practitioners
who may appear before appellate courts. This experience emphasizes theoretical legal analysis and
intellectual rigor.

Mock trial, however, serves a broader educational experience by preparing students for trial-level
litigation and offering a more straightforward approach to law through storytelling and evidence
presentation. It immerses students in the realities of trial advocacy, teaching them about the procedural
aspects of trial and the nuances of interacting with witnesses and juries. Mock trial experiences can be
particularly beneficial for those aspiring to be trial lawyers.

Conclusion

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 In summary, while both moot court and mock trial provide critical training experiences for aspiring
legal professionals, they serve different educational purposes and emphasize different skill sets. Moot
court focuses on appellate advocacy, legal research, and the development of persuasive arguments, while
mock trial immerses students in the practicalities of trial-level litigation, including evidence presentation
and jury persuasion. As law students navigate their educational journeys, understanding these distinctions
can help them select the experiences that best align with their career aspirations and skills development.
Both formats contribute uniquely to a well-rounded legal education, preparing students for diverse paths.

Phonetics

Phonetics is the study of how humans produce and perceive speech sounds, and how vocal organs like
the lips and tongue interact to create sounds. It is a branch of linguistics that also includes the study of
how non-verbal speech is used, understood, and learned.

Modern phonetics has three branches:

 Articulator phonetics which addresses the way sounds are made with the articulators.
 Acoustic phonetics, which addresses the acoustic results of different articulations.
 Auditory phonetics, which addresses the way listeners perceive and understand linguistic signals.
Phonetics is different from phonology, which is the study of more complex sound patterns and
structures, like syllables and intonation. The word "phonetics" was first used in 1836.

Branches of Phonetics:
Articulator phonetics
The field of articulator phonetics is a subfield of phonetics that studies articulation and ways that
humans produce speech. Articulator phoneticians explain how humans produce speech sounds via the
interaction of different physiological structures. Generally, articulator phonetics is concerned with the
transformation of aerodynamic energy into acoustic energy. Aerodynamic energy refers to the airflow
through the vocal tract. Its potential form is air pressure; its kinetic form is the actual dynamic airflow.
Acoustic energy is variation in the air pressure that can be represented as sound waves, which are then
perceived by the human auditory system as sound.

Respiratory sounds can be produced by expelling air from the lungs. However, to vary the sound
quality in a way useful for speaking, two speech organs normally move towards each other to contact
each other to create an obstruction that shapes the air in a particular fashion. The point of maximum
obstruction is called the place of articulation, and the way the obstruction forms and releases is
the manner of articulation. For example, when making a p sound, the lips come together tightly, blocking
the air momentarily and causing a buildup of air pressure. The lips then release suddenly, causing a burst

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of sound. The place of articulation of this sound is therefore called bilabial, and the manner is called stop
(also known as a plosive)

Acoustic phonetics
Acoustic phonetics is a subfield of phonetics, which deals with acoustic, aspects of speech sounds.
Acoustic phonetics investigates time domain features such as the mean squared amplitude of a waveform,
its duration, its fundamental frequency, or frequency domain features such as the frequency spectrum or
even combined spectrotemporal features and the relationship of these properties to other branches of
phonetics (e.g. articulator or auditory phonetics), and to abstract linguistic concepts such as phonemes,
phrases, or utterances.

Auditory phonetics
Auditory phonetics is the branch of phonetics concerned with the hearing of speech sounds and
with speech perception. It thus entails the study of the relationships between speech stimuli and a
listener's responses to such stimuli as mediated by mechanisms of the peripheral and central auditory
systems, including certain areas of the brain. It is said to compose one of the three main branches of
phonetics along with acoustic and articulatory phonetics, though with overlapping methods and questions.

The 44 sounds
The English language has 44 phonemes, or sounds, which are represented by the 26 letters of the
alphabet and their combinations. These sounds are divided into two main categories: consonants and
vowels.

Here are some of the 44 sounds:

 Vowels: There are 20 vowel sounds, including six short vowels, five long vowels, and three R-
controlled vowels.
 Consonants: There are 24 consonant sounds.
 Other sounds: There are also two "of" sounds and two diphthongs.
 The sounds can be represented by multiple spellings, or graphemes, but only the most common
ones are usually taught.

The exact number of sounds can vary depending on accent and articulation, and there is no definitive list.

Vowels
Vowels are broadly categorized by the area of the mouth in which they are produced, but because they
are produced without a constriction in the vocal tract their precise description relies on measuring
acoustic correlates of tongue position. The vowels are classified in to two types they are pure vowels and
impure vowels namely diphthongs and monopthongs. The location of the tongue during vowel production
changes the frequencies at which the cavity resonates, and it is these resonances—known as formants—
which are measured and used to characterize vowels.

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 Vowel height traditionally refers to the highest point of the tongue during articulation. The height
parameter is divided into four primary levels: high (close), close-mid, open-mid, and low (open). Vowels
whose height are in the middle are referred to as mid. Slightly opened close vowels and slightly closed
open vowels are referred to as near-close and near-open respectively. The lowest vowels are not just
articulated with a lowered tongue, but also by lowering the jaw.

Vowel backness is dividing into three levels: front, central and back. Languages usually do not
minimally contrast more than two levels of vowel backness. Some languages claimed to have a three-way
backness distinction include Nimboran and Norwegian.

In most languages, the lips during vowel production can be classified as either rounded or unrounded
(spread), although other types of lip positions, such as compression and protrusion, have been described.
Lip position is correlated with height and backness: front and low vowels tend to be unrounded whereas
back and high vowels are usually rounded. Paired vowels on the IPA chart have the spread vowel on the
left and the rounded vowel on the right. There are Short vowels 7 and Long vowels 5 in vowels.

Articulators of vowels

Glottis
The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds located in the larynx. Its position creates different
vibration patterns to distinguish voiced and voiceless sounds. In addition, the pitch of the vowel is
changed by altering the frequency of vibration of the vocal folds. In some languages there are contrasts
among vowels with different phonation types.

Pharynx

The pharynx is the region of the vocal tract below the velum and above the larynx. Vowels may be
made pharyngealized (also epiglottalized, sphincteric or strident) by means of a retraction of the tongue
root. Vowels may also be articulated with advanced tongue root. There is discussion of whether this
vowel feature (ATR) is different from the Tense/Lax distinction in vowels.

Velum

The velum—or soft palate—controls airflow through the nasal cavity. Nasals and nasalized sounds are
produced by lowering the velum and allowing air to escape through the nose. Vowels are normally
produced with the soft palate raised so that no air escapes through the nose. However, vowels may
be nasalized as a result of lowering the soft palate. Many languages use nasalization contrastively.

Tongue

The tongue is a highly flexible organ that is capable of being moved in many different ways. For vowel
articulation the principal variations are vowel Height and the dimension of Backness and frontness. A
less common variation in vowel quality can be produced by a change in the shape of the front of the
tongue, resulting in a rhotic or rhotacized vowel.

Lips

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The lips play a major role in vowel articulation. It is generally believed that two major variables are in
effect: lip-rounding (or labialization) and lip protrusion.

Pure Vowels symbols

English has 20 vowel sounds.

Short vowels in the IPA are

/ɪ/-pit,

/e/-pet,

/æ/-pat,

/ʌ/-cut,

/ʊ/-put,

/ɒ/-dog,

/ə/-about.

Long vowels in the IPA are

/i:/-week,

/ɑ:/-hard,

/ɔ:/-fork,

/ɜ:/-heard,

/u:/-boot.

Impure vowels symbols

The phonetic symbols for impure vowels, also known as diphthongs, are:

 /eɪ/: As in "day", "pay", "say", and "lay"

 /aɪ/: As in "sky", "buy", "cry", and "tie"
 /ɔɪ/: As in "boy", "toy", "coy", or the first syllable of "soya"
 /ɪə/: As in "beer", "pier", and "hear"
 /eə/: As in "bear", "pair", and "hair"

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  /ʊə/: As in "tour", "poor", or the first syllable of "tourist"
 /əʊ/: As in "oh", "no", "so", or "phone"

Diphthongs are considered impure vowels because they are not a single sound, but rather a gliding
vowel that transitions from one position to another. In contrast, pure vowels are unchanging or steady
state vowels.

Consonants
Consonants are speech sounds that are articulated with a complete or partial closure of the vocal tract.
They are generally produced by the modification of an airstream exhaled from the lungs. The respiratory
organs used to create and modify airflow are divided into three regions: the vocal tract (supralaryngeal),
the larynx, and the subglottal system. The airstream can be either egressive (out of the vocal tract)
or ingressive (into the vocal tract). In pulmonic sounds, the airstream is produced by the lungs in the
subglottal system and passes through the larynx and vocal tract. Glottalic sounds use an airstream created
by movements of the larynx without airflow from the lungs. Click consonants are articulated through
the rarefaction of air using the tongue, followed by releasing the forward closure of the tong.

Place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation (also point of articulation) of a consonant is
an approximate location along the vocal tract where its production occurs. It is a point where a
constriction is made between an active and a passive articulator. Active articulators are organs
capable of voluntary movement which create the constriction, while passive articulators are so
called because they are normally fixed and are the parts with which an active articulator makes
contact. Along with the manner of articulation and phonation, the place of articulation gives the
consonant its distinctive sound.

Since vowels are produced with an open vocal tract, the point where their production occurs cannot be
easily determined. Therefore, they are not described in terms of a place of articulation but by the relative
positions in vowel space. This is mostly dependent on their formant frequencies and less on the specific
tongue position and lip rounding.

The terminology used in describing places of articulation has been developed to allow specifying of
all theoretically possible contrasts. No known language distinguishes all of the places described in
the literature so less precision is needed to distinguish the sounds of a particular language.

Manner of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the manner of articulation is the configuration and interaction of the
articulators (speech organs such as the tongue, lips, and palate) when making a speech sound.
One parameter of manner is stricture, that is, how closely the speech organs approach one

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another. Others include those involved in the r-like sounds (taps and trills), and
the sibilancy of fricatives.

The concept of manner is mainly used in the discussion of consonants, although the movement of the
articulators will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the vocal tract, thereby changing
the formant structure of speech sounds that is crucial for the identification of vowels. For
consonants, the place of articulation and the degree of phonation or voicing are considered
separately from manner, as being independent parameters. Homorganic consonants, which have
the same place of articulation, may have different manners of articulation.
Often nasality and laterality are included in manner, but some phoneticians, such as Peter
Ladefoged, consider them to be independe.

Individual mannar
 Plosive, often called stop, is an oral occlusive, where there is occlusion (blocking) of the
oral vocal tract, and no nasal air flow, so the air flow stops completely. Examples
include English /p t k/ (voiceless) and /b d ɡ/ (voiced). If the consonant is voiced, the voicing is
the only sound made during occlusion; if it is voiceless, a stop is completely silent. What we hear
as a /p/ or /k/ is the effect that the onset of the occlusion has on the preceding vowel, as well as
the release burst and its effect on the following vowel. The shape and position of the tongue
(the place of articulation) determine the resonant cavity that gives different stops their
characteristic sounds. All languages have stops.

 Nasal, a nasal occlusive, where there is occlusion of the oral tract, but air passes through the
nose. The shape and position of the tongue determine the resonant cavity that gives different
nasals their characteristic sounds. Examples include English /m, n/. Nearly all languages have
nasals, the only exceptions being in the area of Puget Sound and a single language
on Bougainville Island.
 Fricative, sometimes called spirant, where there is continuous frication (turbulent
and noisy airflow) at the place of articulation. Examples include
English /f, s/ (voiceless), /v, z/ (voiced), etc. Most languages have fricatives, though many have
only an /s/. However, the Indigenous Australian languages are almost completely devoid of
fricatives of any kind.
o Sibilants are a type of fricative where the airflow is guided by a groove in the tongue
toward the teeth, creating a high-pitched and very distinctive sound. These are by far the
most common fricatives. Fricatives at coronal (front of tongue) places of articulation are
usually, though not always, sibilants. English sibilants include /s/ and /z/.
o Lateral where the frication occurs on one or both sides of the edge of the tongue. The "ll"
of Welsh and the "hl" of Zulu fricatives are a rare type of fricative, are lateral fricatives.
 Affricate, which begins like a stop, but this releases into a fricative rather than having a separate
release of its own. The English letters "ch" [t͡ ʃ] and "j" [d͡ ʒ] represent affricates. Affricates are
quite common around the world, though less common than fricatives.
 Flap, often called a tap, is a momentary closure of the oral cavity. The "tt" of "utter" and the "dd"
of "udder" are pronounced as a flap [ɾ] in North American and Australian English. Many linguists
distinguish taps from flaps, but there is no consensus on what the difference might be. No
language relies on such a difference. There are also lateral flaps.

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  Trill, in which the articulator (usually the tip of the tongue) is held in place, and the airstream
causes it to vibrate. The double "r" of Spanish "perro" is a trill. Trills and flaps, where there are
one or more brief occlusions, constitute a class of consonant called rhotics.
 Approximant, where there is very little obstruction. Examples include English /w/ and /r/. In
some languages, such as Spanish, there are sounds that seem to fall
between fricative and approximant.
o One use of the word semivowel, sometimes called a glide, is a type of approximant,
pronounced like a vowel but with the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth, so that there
is slight turbulence.In English, /w/ is the semivowel equivalent of the vowel /u/,
and /j/ (spelled "y") is the semivowel equivalent of the vowel /i/ in this usage. Other
descriptions use semivowel for vowel-like sounds that are not syllabic, but do not have
the increased stricture of approximants. These are found as elements in diphthongs. The
word may also be used to cover both concepts. The term glide is newer than semivowel,
being used to indicate an essential quality of sounds such as /w/ and /j/, which is the
movement (or glide) from their initial position (/u/ and /i/, respectively) to a following
vowel.
o Lateral approximants, usually shortened to lateral, are a type of approximant
pronounced with the side of the tongue. English /l/ is a lateral. Together with the rhotics,
which have similar behavior in many languages, these form a class of consonant
called liquids.

Here are some examples of phonetic symbols consonants and their corresponding sounds:
 p: as in "pat"
 b: as in "bat"
 t: as in "tap"
 d: as in "dog"
 k: as in "cat"
 g: as in "goat"
 f: as in "fan"
 v: as in "van"
 θ: as in "think"
 ð: as in "this"

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  s: as in "sip"
 z: as in "zip"
 ʃ: as in "she"
 ʒ: as in "measure"
 tʃ: as in "church"
 dʒ: as in "judge"
 m: as in "man"
 n: as in "no"
 ŋ: as in "sing"
 l: as in "lip"
 r: as there "red"
 j: as in "yes"
 w: as in "wet"
 h: as in “hair”

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is a system that uses symbols to represent consonant
sounds. The IPA is useful for learning English pronunciation because English is not a phonetic language,
and the spelling of a word doesn't always indicate how to pronounce it.

Here are some examples of transcribed words:

 Child: Transcribed as "tʃaɪld"

 Young: Transcribed as "jʌŋ"
 Cake: The "c" and "k" are both transcribed as "/k/"
 Judge: The "j" and "dg" are both transcribed as "/dʒ/"
 Thin: The "th" is transcribed as "/θ/" because it is unvoiced
 Cider: The "c" is transcribed as "/s/"
 Matches: The final "s" is transcribed as "/z/" because it is voiced
 Ensure: The "s" is transcribed as "/ʃ/" because it is pronounced as "sh"
 Leisure: The "s" is transcribed as "/ʒ/"
 Ring: The final sound is transcribed as "/ŋ/" because it is nasalised
 Cat: Transcribed as "/kæt/"
 Five: Transcribed as "/faɪv/"

Phonetic transcription uses symbols instead of letters to ensure greater accuracy in communication. The
most common phonetic transcription is the International Phonetic Alphabet.

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References:

Learning The Law - Glanville Williams

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonetics#Articulatory_phonetics

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plosive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manner_of_articulation

https://www.classace.io/answers/write-an-essay-about-difference-between-moot-court-and-mock-
trial#google_vignette

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