CALIFORNIA MOCK TRIAL FACT SITUATION

Driftwood City High School is located on the California coast. At the school, honor students vigorously compete with each other hoping to gain entry to the nation's top colleges. Every year, the English department creates a final exam for all its honors literature classes. The department administers the exam both as a grade in Honors English Literature and to determine the recipients of three Distinguished Writers Foundation ("DWF") scholarships to college. The DWF was established by graduates of Driftwood High to promote the school and the study of literature. Dean Taylor Okita announces the recipients of the scholarships at graduation. In 2002, the exam was given on May 30, two weeks before graduation.

In recent years, there have been problems at Driftwood City High with cheating. To crack down on cheaters, the administration instituted an honor system in which students are required to report incidents of cheating. Those who know about cheaters and who fail to report them are treated the same as the cheaters themselves. For a first offense, Dean Okita orders a one-day suspension and a failing grade on the assignment in question. A second offense results in an "F" on the assignment and a permanent demerit In the student's school record. This rule is rigorously enforced and allows for no exceptions. In 2001, students Beck Martin and Cody Ward had been caught cheating. Both were first-time offenders.

In the spring of 2002, Beck, Cody, and Anne Marcus were seniors at Driftwood. They had known each for years from participating together in academic programs, and all three had been on the honor roll. Anne was a tall 17-year-old girl and an avid rock climber Beck and Cody were both of slight build, were slightly taller than Anne, and were athletes. Beck was a rower and captain on the school's crew team, and Cody ran cross-country on the track team. All three were in Larry Molina's Honors English Literature, and each had been accepted at Empire University for the fall. They took the test on May 30 as scheduled.

On Friday, June 7, 2002, before the tests were returned to the students, Anne overheard Cody and Beck whispering in the school hallway during passing period. At some point in the conversation, Beck removed some photocopied papers stapled together from Beck's backpack and handed them to Cody. Anne, however, reached out and intercepted the papers, looked at them, and saw that they were a copy of the Honors English Literature exam with Beck and Cody's handwritten answers on them.

Realizing that Beck and Cody had cheated on the exam, Anne told them that if they did not turn themselves in by Monday morning, she would deliver these incriminating photocopies to the Dean. Before either of them could grab the papers, Anne quickly turned and put the papers in her locker. She immediately closed and locked the locker door. Unknown to either Beck or Cody, Anne delivered the incriminating papers to Dean Okita later that same Friday afternoon. That night, Beck left messages on Anne's answering machine, but Anne did not answer them. By Sunday, Beck had left 10 messages.

Late in the afternoon on Sunday, June 9, Anne went rack climbing at Ballena Beach on the coast highway just north of Driftwood City. Anne was known to practice throughout the year on Sundays, often at Baltena Beach. The beach is a mile-long stretch of sand bordered on its southern side by an enormous cliff, 75-feet high, which forms a promontory above the water. There is also a narrow ridge of rocks that forms a gradually rising path that leads from the beach around the promontory and then descends on the southern side of the promontory into a small and somewhat hidden cove. The ridge reaches a height of about 40 feet before it leads around to the cove. In the cove, there is a narrow strip of sand surrounded on three sides by rocky cliffs. There are also large boulders in the surf, preventing anyone from swimming safely. Students often went to the cove, despite its isolation.

That evening Cody and Beck drove to Ballena Beach in Cody's white sportscar to talk to Anne. They parked in the beach parking lot in the evening and saw Anne climbing the promontory. They approached Anne, who was about 25 feet above them on the cliff.

Beck and Cody then went up the path to the 40-foot high ridge to wait for Anne to scale that far up. When she reached the edge of the ridge, Beck reached out and grabbed her T-shirt collar. Anne appeared startled, yelled, and leaned back over the edge of the cliff a few inches. Beck then yanked Anne back up onto the ridge. They exchanged words and argued about the cheating issue. Anne reaffirmed that she would give the exam papers to the dean, but wanted Beck and Cody to have some dignity and turn themselves in.

The three of them walked along the ridge toward the cove and spoke more about the cheating. Anne and Beck walked a few feet anead of Cody. A little later they reached the place where the promontory curved south toward the cove. Cody stopped and saw Beck and Anne shoving each other while continuing to shout. Cody then turned around and walked back to the car. Cody reached the car at 7:50 p.m. Anne and Beck continued to walk south where the path started to descend into the cove, about 25 feet above the sand near a weathered "No Trespassing" sign. As they climbed down into the cove, Beck and Anne continued to argue. When Beck returned to the car at about 9;00 p.m., Cody drove them back to Driftwood City.

Early on the morning of June 10, Dean Okita arrived at school. At about 7:00 a.m., Okita walked out of the office and saw Beck standing in front of the building. At about 8:15, Okita again walked down the hall near the office, but this time saw that Anne Marcus's locker had been forced open. Okita informed campus security of this.

At approximately 7:00 a.m. that same morning, police officer Loren Kripke responded to a call from a local resident that a body had washed up on the shore at Ballena Beach. Officer Kripke went to the scene and conducted a visual investigation of the cove, finding a small, palm-sized, heavy rock with dried blood on it. There was some swelling around the body's left eye.

Subsequent forensics examination revealed that (1) the body was that of Anne Marcus; (2) the cause of death was drowning; (3) there were marks on Anne's wrists; (4) Anne had a wound on the left side of her head above the temple consistent receiving a blunt force blow; (5) there was swelling around the left eye; and (6) the blood on the small rock positively matched Anne's blood type. Around 11:00 a.m., the medical examiner called Officer Kripke with this information, and Kripke notified Anne's parents and the school administration that Anne had died at the cove. Dean Okita told the students and faculty at a special assembly that Anne had died. Okita offered no other details about the death. Cody Ward had a doctor's appointment and did not arrive at school until 11:00.

At 1:00 p.m., Officer Kripke came to the school to interview the dean. After the interview, the dean summoned Cody from class for questioning by Officer Kripke in the dean's office. Kripke questioned Cody for a few minutes, and Cody returned to class. The dean then summoned Beck to the office. Beck arrived at the office, and the dean introduced Beck to Kripke. The dean left the office and closed the door, leaving Beck and Kripke alone. [Kripke directed Beck to sit in a chair on one side of the desk, and Kripke sat in the dean's chair. Kripke read Beck's Miranda rights aloud, and they had the following exchange:

Kripke (Q): Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?
Beck (A): Oh, yeah. I've heard them on TV a lot. Besides, they're the same we read about in Government class.
Q: Are you willing to speak to me without an attorney present?
A: Sure.
Q: That's fine. Beck Martin, you know our conversation here is being recorded?
A: Yes. I can see your tape recorder right here.
Q: OK. I just need information about Anne Marcus. I understand you were at the beach with her yesterday evening, is that right?
A: Well, my parents are out of town. I think I'd like to speak with my aunt right now.
Q: Your aunt?
A: Yes.
Q: OK. Listen. You can have an attorney here, if you want, but I am not going to call your aunt right now.
A: Oh.
(At this point, neither Beck nor Kripke spoke for approximately 15 seconds. Then the questioning continued as follows.)
Q: You know Anne Marcus died last night. Tell me, were the two of you friends?
A: Yeah, she was a good climber. I still can't believe she hit her head like that.
Q: How long did you know her?
A: I don't know, three years or so. I kind of think I'd like to speak to my aunt now.
Q: I'll tell you what. You can go back to class now. Thank you.]

After the questioning ceased, Officer Kripke dismissed Beck to return to class and left the school to get an arrest warrant. Later that day, Kripke arrested Beck Martin for the murder of Anne Marcus. After a fitness hearing, the county prosecutors charged Beck as an adult.