The MiniTrial materials have been prepared by Scottish lawyers – and are based on what actually happens in a Scottish Sheriff Court. They are designed to help students learn about the Scottish legal system, courts and the people who appear in them in an interesting and enjoyable way.
Free MiniTrial Resources
The papers are extensive and carefully drafted to ensure schools have all information necessary to run a MiniTrial. Papers are location specific and bespoke to different parts of the country. This is to make sure the papers are relatable to the students. Download the areas applicable to your location below. If the location specific papers don’t exist then we’ll create them – it’s certainly not a bar to a MiniTrial taking place in a new venue. Simply fill in the enquiry form on the Contact page and we’ll prepare what you need.
Tayside
East Ayrshire
East Renfrewshire
Edinburgh
South Ayrshire
Glasgow
Stirling
Clackmannanshire
Falkirk
North Lanarkshire
Aberdeen
Highland
Dumfries & Galloway
Orkney
Scottish Borders
District Court MiniTrial
No need for a jury.
His Majesty’s Advocate v Goldilocks
This is another MiniTrial designed for younger primary school children. As you might have guessed from your knowledge of this fairy tale the charge involves malicious damage to property.
The Paisley Snail MiniTrial
Separately there are civil court papers. These were prepared to mark the 75th anniversary of Donoghue v Stevenson case.
HMA v Wade
If classes wish to take the trials further there are also MiniTrial “sentencing materials” to provide a sentencing exercise for the Adjourned Diet for Sentence in the case of HMA v Wade.