NCJ Number
158971
Date Published
1995
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Part 1 of this video presents the trial of a high school student charged with receiving stolen property, and viewers must act as the jury to decide whether his guilt has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt; part 2 instructs viewers in constitutional rights that pertain to the processing of criminal cases.
Abstract
The first part of the video is a dramatized fictional trial of Mike King, a high school student charged with receiving stolen property. At a party Mike mentioned that he wanted to buy a CD player; whereupon, a stranger at the party offered to sell Mike a CD player he had in his possession. Fifty dollars was exchanged, and Mike took the CD player home. Mike's former girlfriend, Jessica Harris, was also at the party and subsequently claimed that she overheard the conversation surrounding the selling of the CD player and became convinced that Mike was knowingly buying stolen property. She called the police about the transaction. After a police officer observed the CD player in Mike's room following a consensual search, the player was found to be one stolen from an electronics warehouse. Mike was then charged with receiving stolen property, based primarily on Jessica's claim that she heard the seller mention to Mike that the CD player was "hot." The video takes viewers through the trial, including the presentation of witnesses for the prosecution and the defense, along with cross-examination and closing arguments. Viewers are left to decide whether Mike knew that he was buying stolen property. Part 2 provides viewers with insight into some important constitutional rights that are raised in trials. A trial attorney provides information on the right to a jury trial, the right to confront witnesses, the right to remain silent (right against self-incrimination), the right to an attorney, and the right to privacy (search and seizure limitations). A teacher's guide provides a suggested instructional procedure.