Dalton State College

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Mock Trial

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When defense attorney Moises Robleto, 26, was asked if he would get his client “off,” he replied, “Yes, I’m sure of it.”

Prosecuting attorney Susan Frost was equally confident about her prospects of convicting the accused murderer.

“I think we’ve got it in the bag,” says Frost, 46. “I did my homework on this one, as did the officers.”

The two “lawyers” have not passed the “bar,” but they did participate in a mock trial for their final exam in their Rules of Evidence class this fall.

“This class, which is a requirement of the Law Enforcement program, covers a number of topics, like constitutional law, rules of evidence, courtroom procedures, and crime scene investigations,” says Chip Whitfield, the class instructor who also serves as the third shift sergeant for the Dalton Police Department.

“For their final, the students were given a scenario of a ‘crime,’ and were given various roles to perform: that of an attorney, a witness, the defendant, an arresting officer, or a juror.

“I let them volunteer for the role they wanted, and we took the jury out of the classroom for a few class periods while the attorneys and witnesses prepared their cases,” Whitfield said. “In fact, the jury had no idea what crime had been committed until they were seated in the “jury box.”

Moises Robleto, left, served as the defense attorney, District Attorney Kermit McManus served as judge, and Susan Frost was the prosecutor during the recent mock trial that served as the final exam this fall for students in Chip Whitfield's Rules of Evidence / Law Enforcement class.

The “case” involved an alleged murder, committed by a young woman who had been charged with the crime based largely on circumstantial evidence.

Whitfield said that the “evidence” that was submitted consisted of interviews with witnesses and suspects as well as crime scene sketches and physical evidence obtained at the scene.

Local District Attorney Kermit McManus volunteered his time to serve as the judge for the mock trial. Although he’s spoken to DSC students in the past, and has served as a “judge” for other mock trials, this was his first “judgeship” at Dalton State.

Participating in this exercise has been “interesting and fun,” says “juror” Stephanie Staton, 19, who is working toward a certificate in Law Enforcement and who hopes, eventually, to work in the narcotics division of a police department.

“Our instructor has made it a pleasure to come to class. We’ve learned a lot of laws, and we’ve learned how to present ourselves in a courtroom.”

In the end, the defendant was not found guilty.

“The prosecution had a strong case, but we felt like there was still room for doubt,” said juror Robert Angle, 39. “We thought that she was probably guilty, but we had to let her go.”