The Trial of Montresor:

The Cask of Amontillado

75 Project Points
The Scenario: Breaking News! Montresor has been arrested for the attempted murder of
Fortunato. Fortunatos wife hired a detective who found him buried alive in the catacombs of
Montresor. Thankfully, the detective arrived in time to save Fortunato. Montresors defense team
claims he was insane and is therefore not responsible for his actions. The prosecution claims the
attempted murder was premeditated and is therefore seeking the death penalty. Who will be able
to convince the jury?
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Mock Trials Roles (15 Individual Points each):

The Prosecution (2 Groups): Fortunato
This group is responsible for articulating the charges against the defendant--Montresor. You must
define the arguments that form the basis of the charge and introduce witnesses to provide
evidence in support of these arguments. You will also need to predict the counter-arguments of
the defense in order to prepare witnesses to testify against the defendant, and to prepare
questions for the witnesses of the defense.

Lawyer(s): The lawyers will address the jury, presenting the arguments and questioning
witnesses in order to convince the jury of the defendant's guilt. Research and note-taking
regarding the evidence to be used during the trial.

Two Witnesses Fortunato and the Detective : Prosecution witnesses will be

questioned by the lawyers for the prosecution and for the defense, so you will have to develop an
interpretive presentation of the character that is consistent with the arguments of the prosecution
AND based on the text.

The Defense (2 Groups): Montresor

This group is responsible for articulating arguments for the innocence of the defendant. You must
define arguments in opposition to the initial charge against the defendant, and introduce
witnesses who can give evidence in support of these arguments. You will also need to predict
arguments the prosecution might use against the defendant and other witnesses in order to
prepare them to testify, and in order to prepare questions for the witnesses of the prosecution.

Lawyer(s): The lawyers will address the jury, presenting the arguments and questioning
witnesses in order to convince the jury of the defendant's guilt. Research and note-taking
regarding the evidence to be used during the trial.

Two Witnesses: Montresor and his maid/butler. Witnesses will be questioned by the
lawyers for the prosecution and for the defense, so you will have to develop an interpretive
presentation of the character that is consistent with the arguments of the defense AND based on
the text.

Jury: (The groups not presenting their portion of the trail)

You will be responsible for evaluating the arguments presented by the prosecution and the
defense in order to determine the guilt or innocence of the defendant. To accomplish the task,
jury members must:
* Develop a set of criteria for judging the effectiveness and merit of the arguments and evidence
presented by the prosecution and defense teams.
* Vote on the outcome of the trial according to the established criteria, NOT based on knowledge
of the characters from reading and personal opinion.
* Explain reasoning for verdict to the court.

Process
Day 1-2:
Legal Teams: research evidence and prepare notes to use in trial
Clear and legible notes will be turned into Judge at the end of Day 1
Day 2-3:

Legal Teams prepare witnesses for trial

Attorneys write opening and closing statements with the group
Witnesses prepare quotations and character "sketch" for presentation purposes
Day 4: Trials
The following trial sequence and time categories are recommended as a guideline:
Prosecuting attorneys opening statement: 2 minutes
Defense attorneys opening statement: 2 minutes
PAs direct examination of their first witness: 5 minutes
DAs cross-examination of PAs first witness: 4 minutes
DAs direct examination of their first witness: 5 minutes
PAs cross-examination of DAs first witness: 4 minutes
PAs direct examination of their second witness: 5 minutes
DAs cross-examination of PAs second witness: 4 minutes
DAs direct examination of their second witness: 5 minutes
PAs cross-examination of DAs second witness: 4 minutes
Prosecuting attorneys closing argument: 2 minutes
Defense attorney's closing argument: 2 minutes

**Jury verdict and Jury observation papers (10 pts) due the next day for
individual grades.
**Individual write-ups of attorney/witness questions and testimonies due
after presentation for student individual grades (15 pts).