In what seems like the aftermath of a giant game of Clue, students at Lincoln-Way High School are putting Mike Mean on trial for murdering his girlfriend, Candy Kane.
Using the fictional story of an 18-year-old woman who disappeared from her bloodstained apartment, the juniors and seniors in teacher Lee Render’s business law class assumed the roles of the courtroom cast of judge, jury, attorneys and witnesses.
The project requires a lot of research and preparation, Render said. “The kids have been working on this off and on for three or four weeks,” he said.
The exercise gives the students a chance to exercise important skills such as organization, critical thinking, writing and speaking, Render said.
And once the trial is under way, students have to react speedily, he said. “We’ve got a lot of kids who are trying to think very quickly,” he said.
Judge Paul Rusiniak, a senior, opened the proceedings with testimony from two aptly named witnesses.
Pathologist Dr. Blood testified that the blood found in the missing woman’s apartment probably was hers, and bartender Al Beers recalled seeing the defendant at his bar.
Mike Mean, portrayed by senior Joe Battistoni, had defenders besides his attorneys.
Senior Lori Dirks, portraying his mother, Marlo Mean, assured the judge and jury that her son was a good boy.
“The whole community loves him. I am shocked that he’s accused,” she said, wiping away a tear.
But motherhood didn’t guarantee mercy from determined prosecutor Ken Andresen, a senior, who suggested that mom may not have been aware of all of her offspring’s activities.
“Are you aware of his drinking habits?” he asked. “Have you ever seen you son totally blitzed, messed up? Mike not only had time to do the murder. He also had time to clean out his camper truck and wash out all the evidence.”
Rusiniak, who added some color to the proceedings by wearing a red Lincoln-Way graduation gown as a judge’s robe, said he envisions a career as a lawyer and a judge.
“Basically, I wanted (to be the judge) because I’m very interested in law,” he said.
The judge doesn’t have an easy job, he noted, and the hardest part was “being impartial. I have friends on both sides.”
Classmate Jen Czupek said she was considering a law career before her stint as a prosecutor. “But not anymore,” she said. “It’s hard to put your words into questions.”
Fellow prosecutor Laura Driscoll, a junior, agreed. “It’s nerve-racking,” she said.
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“You have to just do a lot of research,” said junior Bill Byerley, a defense attorney confident of victory. “There’s a lot of reasonable doubt.”
“We’ve got it,” agreed another defense attorney, senior Jill Vasecky.
“There’s a lot of questionable facts,” said defense attorney Scott Libershir, a senior.
Both sides were hoping the trial, which began Monday, would end Friday before the cast of characters runs out of dress-up clothes.
For senior Elise Rogacki, the hardest part of the project was “dressing up every day.”