How do you get criminal trial experience without all the mess and fuss of criminal defendants tracking your house-boat down the river after their release from prison? You could try to get an externship for free with the Public Defender’s office, but hey, you can make nothing, doing nothing!! Or you could try some interactive software which simulates a criminal case.
The game (on disk) comes with a book that describes and explains Testimonial Evidence, Documentary Evidence, Real Evidence, and Demonstrative Evidence.
Objection!! 2.0 is a fascinating, interactive computer game that simulates trials and provides users with the opportunity to act as attorneys and object to witness examinations. It is fast-paced, challenging, and fun.
Objection! teaches rules of evidence, and provides a fun software solution for procrastinators. Attorneys who procrastinated about taking continuing education courses should love Objection!, because this is also the first computer program approved for 10 CLE credits in Vermont.
The supplemented texts include new cases, new issues regarding evidence, and greatly enhanced indexing. Titled Comprehensive EVIDENCE, the texts include color-coded pages and tabs for instant access.
To improve your skill at quickly identifying facially objectionable questions, however, Objection! fits the bill. And it’s fun as well!
During the course of my test drive, I had a law student, a first year lawyer, and my law partner attempt to defend Mr. Fendant. With each, their client was initially put to death, but all quickly caught on, even arriving at a point where the client only got life. All found the game entertaining and useful.
Objection! is a wonderful learning tool for the law student, the new lawyer and even the experienced practitioner who thinks he or she knows it all (certainly none of us are like that). Because it combines speed of response with accuracy, you must learn to quickly identify word patterns and question structure, which is the key to successful objecting. Even my eleven year old son started to get the hang of it despite not knowing the meaning of words such as speculative or immaterial.
While the rules of the game are simple, the challenge is not.
Now available in version 2.0, Objection!! offers added features including: ‘Xplanation,’ a function that explains the correct answer, often citing federal rules and cases; a performance evaluation which identifies problem areas based on the player’s incorrect responses and directs attention to the appropriate chapter of study in the book; and a save-game option which allows the player to stop playing at any point in the game and resume later at the same point.