Of Mice and Men Mock Trials

Matt Akers’ 7th grade English class staged two mock trials for Of Mice and Men. On trial was George Milton for the murder of Lennie Small. The students served as the witnesses, prosecution, and the defense while Mr. Akers played the role of the judge. It was the role of the jury—all volunteer teachers--to determine if George Milton was guilty of murder or voluntary manslaughter.

It was the role of the students, who were either prosecution or defense, to convince the jury that their side was correct. The students who served as witnesses had descriptions of their characters to guide their testimony. The questioning of witnesses was lively--witnesses came dressed as their character and some supplied southern accents on the stand. The verdicts: for the first trial George was found guilty of murder and for the second, he was found guilty of manslaughter.
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