The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Carri C. during the 2007-2008 League.
Local Judicial Trial
I went to see a trial that was being judged by the Honorable Thomas D. Wilson. It was a Breach of Contract case. A man and a woman were fighting over a money issue.
The Plaintiff's lawyer said that they wanted to eliminate the statements of The Defendant in her responsive pleadings that The Plaintiff harassed her. The lawyer claimed that whether he was a mean man or not, it was irrelevant to the case. That said The Plaintiff's attorney said that it was relevant, as it brought into question the credibility of the witnesses. Judge Wilson ruled that they would deal with relevance as it came up during testimony.
The facts of the case were that The Plaintiff was a licensed builder, and he owned a school that trains builders. The Defendent worked at a hospital as an RN and then worked in Plaintiff's business for some years. The Defendent owned property on a lake and together they decided to build a house for their retirement. Sometime after, The Plaintiff bought a boat (yacht) for their yearly vacations. The Defendant agreed to hold $100,000 in cash as collateral from The Plaintiff in a safety deposit box. But when The Plaintiff tried to get his money back, he was not allowed access to the box, and he only received $55,000. One year on their vacation they had a disagreement, and when they returned home The Defendent told The Plaintiff to get out of the house and gave him a bill for about $19,400. Later The Plaintiff forged a check for that amount, but it was not honored by the bank. She then forged another check, and it was cashed by a different bank. Two days later The Plaintiff wrote The Defendant a check for $20,000, not knowing about the forged checks. So The Plaintiff wanted his money from the forged check and a quarter interest of the value of the house.
The Plaintiff was then sworn in as a witness, he gave his testimony, including a detailed description of the house and the woodwork he had done. The Defendant's lawyer asked him if he had his license during the building the house, and James said it was possible that he did not.
Unfortunately at this time, Judge Wilson said that he had a meeting in a few minutes. So the rest of the trial was adjourned, Judge Wilson later told me that The Plaintiff was awarded the 1/4 interest in the form of a 2nd mortgage, $14,000 of the check, the rest was for The Defendant's court expenses. Judge Wilson also split the $45,000 between the couple. So, he said, neither of them left happy.
It was so interesting to watch a REAL trial. The only trial experience that I have had previously was watching the mock trials at SSI. I am even considering the Mock Trial next year.
