Storybook County Lessons · Lesson 10
The Court of Appeals
Wolf v. Storybook County
Storybook County Lessons · Lesson 10
The Court of Appeals
Wolf v. Storybook County
Grades 9 to 12, adaptable for younger students · Four 30-minute sessions
Teacher note. Handouts: 1. Case Packet: Wolf v. Storybook County; 2. Brief Outline; 3. Oral Argument Order and Justice Bench Card; 4. Opinion Template. You also need a timer and five chairs at the front for the bench. Designed to follow the Literary Character Mock Trial lesson; the Case Packet works if the trial was not held.
The story
The story problem
The Big Bad Wolf was convicted (or acquitted) in the trial court. Someone is unhappy. The Wolf says the Woodsman's search of his den and his statement at the door of Grandmother's cottage should never have reached the jury. The County says the evidence was fair and the verdict should stand.
- The Big Bad Wolf
- The Woodsman
- Little Red Riding Hood
- Grandmother
- The Sheriff
Teacher note. If the class trial acquitted the Wolf, swap the parties: the County appeals the exclusion of evidence, and the questions are argued in mirror image.
You will be able to
- Explain the difference between a trial (facts) and an appeal (law and procedure).
- Write the sections of an appellate brief using the supplied cases.
- Present a timed oral argument and answer questions from a hot bench.
- Question, deliberate and write a short opinion as a Justice.
Who is in the courtroom
- Appellant
- The party appealing (the Wolf)
- Respondent
- The party defending the result (the County)
- Justices
- Five per panel; a Presiding Justice runs the argument, one Justice writes the opinion
- Clerk of the Court
- Keeps time and calls the case
- Relief
- What each side asks the court to do: reverse and order a new trial, or affirm
Teacher note. Teams of 2 to 3 attorneys per side. With a large class, form several teams per side ("law firms") and run multiple arguments in Session 4. At the conference a Justice must first have been an attorney; in class, choose students who were strong jurors or attorneys in the trial lesson. The Attorney General and Public Defender are optional showcase roles.
The rule that makes the lesson work
Only the facts in the packet and only the five supplied cases. No new evidence, no outside law.
Teacher note. In the New York Youth and Government judicial program, attorney teams write a brief from a closed set of facts and cases, argue twice before panels of five student Justices, and the Justices write an opinion.
Session 1 · 30 min
What an Appeal Is
- Hook5 min
- Read the packet10 min
- Ten facts10 min
- Meet the precedents5 min
Hook
The jury convicted the Wolf. Can he get a new jury because he thinks they were wrong?
Teacher note. No. Appeals courts do not re-decide facts; they ask whether the law and the procedure were correct. The question is never "Did he do it?" but "Was the trial fair under the rules?"
Read the packet
Who is the Appellant? Who is the Respondent? What relief does each side want?
Teacher note. Read the facts and the two Questions Presented aloud. Appellant asks to reverse and order a new trial without the items and the statement; Respondent asks to affirm.
Case Packet
The facts
1. Little Red Riding Hood told the Woodsman she had seen the Wolf at the cottage.
2. The Woodsman, who holds no county office, entered the Wolf's den without permission and found a red hood and a nightcap.
3. The Woodsman brought the items to the Sheriff, who used them at trial.
4. At the cottage door the Sheriff asked, "What are you doing here?" The Wolf said, "Waiting for my dinner." No warning that he could stay silent.
5. The Wolf was not in custody; no weapon drawn, path not blocked.
6. The trial judge allowed the items and the statement over objection.
7. The Wolf's lawyer argued the statement was a joke.
8. Grandmother testified the Wolf "looked hungry."
9. The jury deliberated eleven minutes.
10. The Wolf has no prior convictions.
Teacher note. This is the full fact list from Supporting Document 1. The Wolf was tried on charges of unlawful entry and attempted harm to a resident at Grandmother's cottage.
Questions presented
- Did the trial court err in admitting items taken from the Wolf's den by a private person who entered without permission?
- Did the trial court err in admitting the Wolf's statement at the cottage door, made before any warning that he could stay silent?
Ten facts
List the five facts that help you most and the five that hurt you most. What will you do about your worst fact?
Teacher note. This is the real conference prep exercise. Teams must say their worst-fact plan out loud.
Meet the precedents
Mark each case: helps, hurts, or can be distinguished.
Teacher note. "Distinguished" means shown to be about a different situation. Skim the five case summaries on the next slide.
The only cases you may cite
- County v. Goldilocks
- Evidence the Three Bears found in their own home was admissible; the search rule restrains county officers, not private residents acting on their own.
- County v. Rumpelstiltskin
- A name found by a county employee eavesdropping without permission was excluded; county agents may not do indirectly what they may not do directly.
- Troll v. County
- The Troll's answer to the Billy Goats was admissible; the goats were not county officers and the Troll spoke freely.
- County v. Pinocchio
- A statement obtained by the Fox and the Cat at the Sheriff's request was excluded; a private person acting at an officer's direction is treated as the officer.
- County v. Rip Van Winkle
- A statement to a Sheriff on a public path after one ordinary question, with no restraint, was admissible; a person free to walk away is not in custody.
Session 2 · 30 min
Writing the Brief
- Brief outline5 min
- Draft20 min
- Check5 min
Brief outline
- Cover: case name, Appellant or Respondent, team number
- Questions Presented: restated in your favor
- Statement of Facts: accurate, told from your side
- Summary of Argument: one paragraph
- Argument: one heading per question, at least two precedents each
- Conclusion: ask for the relief you want
Teacher note. 5 minutes. The Appellant asks whether the court "erred"; the Respondent asks whether the court "properly admitted." In the Argument, state the rule from the cases, apply it to these facts, and distinguish the case that hurts. The brief is two to three pages.
Draft
- Attorneys: divide the sections
- Justices: write three questions for each side
- Justices: pick the most persuasive precedent
Teacher note. While teams draft, Justices read the packet as a court.
Say it
For these reasons, the Appellant respectfully asks this court to reverse the conviction and order a new trial.
Appellant's conclusion
Teacher note. The Respondent's version ends: "...asks this court to affirm."
Check
Does every Argument paragraph cite a case from the packet? Does the Conclusion ask for specific relief?
Session 3 · 30 min
Oral Argument Preparation
- The format5 min
- Handling the bench10 min
- Moot the moot15 min
Oral argument order
- Clerk calls the case
- Appellant: 6 minutes (may reserve 1)
- Respondent: 6 minutes
- Appellant rebuttal: 1 minute
- Deliberation
- Announcement
Teacher note. Justices may interrupt at any time.
Say it
May it please the court, my name is ____, and I represent the Appellant.
Opening line for counsel
Handling the bench
- Answer directly first: "Yes, Your Honor, but..."
- Return to your argument
- Never say "I'll get to that."
Teacher note. Practice by throwing questions at volunteers.
Moot the moot
Argue to the other team while a partner plays a hostile Justice.
Teacher note. Justices practice their questions on the teacher or on the Clerk.
Session 4 · 30 min
Argument and Opinion
- Call the case2 min
- Argument15 min
- Deliberation and opinion8 min
- Announcement and wrap-up5 min
Say it
All rise. The Court of Appeals of Storybook County is now in session, the Honorable Presiding Justice ____ presiding. The court will hear Wolf v. Storybook County.
The Clerk
Teacher note. Call the case: 2 minutes. The Clerk swears no one in; there are no witnesses on appeal.
Argument
Full format, with timing.
Teacher note. Justices question from the Bench Card. The Presiding Justice keeps order and tells counsel when time is up.
Justice bench card
- Counsel, which case is most like ours, and why?
- If the Woodsman had been deputized by the Sheriff, would your answer change?
- Is a wolf at a cottage door with a Sheriff in front of him free to walk away?
- Was "Waiting for my dinner" a confession or a complaint?
- What is the relief you want, exactly, and what happens at a new trial?
- Counsel, your worst fact is ____. What do we do with it?
- If we agree with you on Question 1 but not Question 2, does the conviction stand?
Deliberation and opinion
Justices confer at the bench, vote, and write the opinion.
Teacher note. At the conference, deliberation is private, but in class hearing the reasoning is the lesson. A dissenting Justice may give a one-sentence dissent.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion template
Holding on Question 1: The items were / were not properly admitted, because (cite the controlling case and the key fact).
Holding on Question 2: The statement was / was not properly admitted, because (cite the controlling case and the key fact).
Disposition: The conviction is affirmed / reversed and remanded for a new trial.
Vote: _ to _. Dissent by Justice ____ (one sentence).
Announcement and wrap-up
Did the better argument win, or the better case? What would the Wolf's lawyers do differently at a new trial?
Teacher note. The Presiding Justice reads the holding first. If the class wants a showcase, the Attorney General and Public Defender can argue a short version for the full class at the end.
How you are scored
- Brief: 35
- Oral argument: 30
- Justices: 25
- Clerk and decorum: 10
Teacher note. Support: assign one question presented, provide a model Summary of Argument, allow notes. Challenge: run the conference double-argument format, have Justices rank Best Brief and Best Attorney, and write a full-paragraph majority and dissent.
The court has spoken
An appeal asks whether the law was applied correctly.
Eyes up here
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