UGS 333 Trial Theory and Principles of Litigation
This course is designed to help students understand all aspects of trial court procedure and the litigation process. Students will develop an understanding of how both criminal and civil trials work, as well as learn about the various roles played by the participants in the trial court process. Students act as plaintiff and defense attorneys, prosecutors, witnesses, and judges. Students also work on important skills, such as public speaking, critical thinking, negotiation, communication, debating, and team-building. Students will learn how to approach and to analyze a question - a legal question of innocence or guilt - with an impartial and clear mind that is untampered by airy opinion. Students will decide a cause with informed judgment, whereupon exacting an effect through honed rhetorical skills. With a combination of knowledge and its practice in the courtroom, students will not only learn to write with high English command, but will also learn to speak with high poise and cogency. An argument is as strong as the evidence that supports it, and students will learn to support their arguments with law and historical authority. Opinions will not be excluded, but rather channeled into well-structured theory that is grounded in justice.