Forensics, Confessions and Cross-Examination at Law Society Mock Trial
21 September 2026 - Academic
On 16 September, the Wycombe Abbey Law Society held its seventh mock trial, in which Mia (UVI) was accused of stealing valuable goods and smuggling them off site to a local criminal who allegedly facilitated their sale on the European black market.
The jury, comprising 60 pupils from across the school, heard how Mia was identified at the southern perimeter wall, hurling drawstring bags to an accomplice; how she had apparently confessed in a rambling stream of consciousness; and how subsequently she embarked on a meandering trip through Europe, mingling with infamous mobsters from Romanian and Croatian cartels. The Defence established that none of Mia’s shoes bore traces of the soil by the perimeter wall and cast doubt on the veracity of the ‘confession’.
After deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict by a margin of 34 votes to 19.
The aim of the mock trial is both to provide a spectacle and to introduce the jury to different types of evidence – in this case soil forensics and ambiguous confession evidence – as well as providing the opportunity for barristers to engage in case analysis and cross-examination.
Well done to all involved.
Mr Ed FitzGerald
Teacher of History and Politics
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