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Grissom Middle School teacher Brendan Roosa listens to student Amaya Ullah give testimony during the mock trial.
Photo by Liz Carnegie
Elia Yousif, right, acted as the courtroom sketch artist during the mock trial. He is joined by Tristan Gracia, left, who portrayed a juror.
Photo by Liz Carnegie
STERLING HEIGHTS — “All rise,” bailiff Tyrese Vance-Anderson directed as the “State of Oregon versus Langley Parker” trial got underway during third hour in the Grissom Middle School media center.
The eighth grade students held a mock trial April 30 under the guidance of social studies teacher Brendan Roosa, who served as judge. Parker, portrayed by Alex Shamoon, was charged with manslaughter in the second degree after playing a joke on Terry Weaver, played by Aalanah Matthews, and her mom Jackie Weaver, who “died” of a heart attack after the prank.
“Remember, a lot of it is about how you present your evidence, not only what is your evidence,” Roosa reminded the students. “Members of the jury, your duty today will be to determine whether the prosecution proves the defendant caused the death of Jackie Weaver. The defendant is innocent until proven (guilty) beyond reasonable doubt.”
Grissom is part of the Warren Consolidated Schools district. All of Rossa’s classes held their own mock trials, and local media was invited to view the third hour proceedings.
“They’ve been working so hard on their academic skills,” Roosa said.
The trial began when prosecuting attorney Phat Le — representing the State of Oregon — and his cohorts Meerna Bahry, Andreanna Baba and Artest Qari made opening statements.
The defense team was composed of Daniel Shuten, Chanel Alsabti, Jayden Butrus and Pat Troung. A number of witnesses took the stand. During the third hour court date, Elia Yousif served as the sketch artist.
“Someone died. It all started on May 2 in an alleyway in Oregon when Parker decided to throw that zombie prank, terrifying unsuspecting passerbys,” Le said. “As Terry Weaver and her mother Jackie Weaver turned around and saw the mob of zombies caught on their heels, they began to run in panic causing the devastation of Terry’s ankle as she tripped due to the immense fear she was in.”
Parker owns a web-based reality show that produces interactive scenarios designed to entertain. The actors are trained. Terry Weaver broke her ankle during one of Parker’s productions.
“Langley Parker showed no remorse as he let out a chuckle,” Le said. “At the conclusion of this trial you will find that Langley Parker is responsible for Jackie Weaver’s death because he was neglectful of human safety.”
During the defense team’s opening arguments, Alsabti told the jury members that all the necessary precautions were in place during Parker’s prank. She said the prank was harmless, that there was “nothing dangerous about what he did,” and there was no way he could have known Jackie Weaver had a heart condition.
“Parker is not guilty and should not have to go to jail when the situation was completely up to chance and out of his hands,” Alsabti said. “If Langley was truly guilty, this would have been an open-and-shut case. If the slightest doubt of guilt remains in your head, trust your judgement because you know just as well as I do that Langley Parker is not guilty.”
When she took the stand, Terry Weaver talked about how Parker terrorized the family, including when she and her mom thought they saw a ghost during one of Parker’s productions. At the site of it, her mom collapsed.
“I have had multiple run-ins with the defendant. I am tired of walking down the street and being afraid that something might happen to me or someone I love,” Weaver said. “Langley Parker takes pride in scaring people half to death and feels no remorse about what happens to them.”
Parker took the stand in his defense.
“I’m an artist at work. There is nothing dangerous in any of my productions and I take a lot of care to make sure no one is harmed,” said the defendant, who shut his production down after he heard of Jackie Weaver’s death. “If I knew she had any kind of medical vulnerability, I never would have let her near the set. It was a tragic accident.”
Other witnesses who testified included Lucas Muscus as Sgt. Lee Strad, Avery Mitchell played by Violet Smeenk, Amaya Ullah as Drew Watson, and Yousif Sto as Jesse Brice.
It took the jury two days to study the evidence before they reached a verdict. By the end of the day May 1, they were deadlocked. Jury deliberations continued May 2, and after much discussion, the jury found Parker guilty with manslaughter in the second degree.
Before the trial began, the students prepared for their parts by reading various materials about the legal system and submitting applications for their roles as lawyers, witnesses, jury and news reporters. One aspect of the activity was reading 10th grade level material. The students also studied the Bill of Rights, the jury system, and the importance of conducting group work, filling out applications and professionalism.
Students indicated why they thought they were a good fit for the role in which they applied, and one strength and one weakness they would bring to the role. They also shared their current social studies grade and GPA. The participants received recommendations from their Grissom teachers, and wearing business casual attire during the court proceedings was mandatory.
