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Mission library/9th Grade · History Social Studies/Mock Trial

Mission brief·Mock Trial

Hammurabi on Trial: Justice or Tyranny?

Students will explore the innovations of Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria, focusing on writing, law, and urban development.

Grade9th GradeSubjectHistory Social StudiesDuration45 minClass size28 studentsMethodologyMock Trial

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Learning objectives · 3

Students can engage with: Analyze how the geography of Mesopotamia influenced the development of its civilizations.
Students can engage with: Critique Hammurabi's Code for its justice and fairness from a modern perspective.
Students can engage with: Differentiate the key characteristics that define a 'civilization' based on Mesopotamian examples.

Before Class

Materials Needed

☐Evidence packet: 8 excerpts from Hammurabi's Code (printed, one per attorney pair)Included
☐Witness role cards (4 cards: a merchant, a slave, a woman, a nobleman)Included
☐Jury verdict sheet (one per jury member)Included
☐Timer visible to all

Space Needed

Desks rearranged into courtroom layout

Topic Overview

Students will explore the innovations of Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria, focusing on writing, law, and urban development.

Key Questions

?Analyze how the geography of Mesopotamia influenced the development of its civilizations.
?Critique Hammurabi's Code for its justice and fairness from a modern perspective.
?Differentiate the key characteristics that define a 'civilization' based on Mesopotamian examples.

About the Methodology

Students recreate a historical trial or put a historical figure/event "on trial." Roles include prosecution, defense, witnesses, jury, and judge. Students must research their positions and present evidence-based arguments. Develops persuasion, research, public speaking, and critical analysis skills.

Learn about this methodology

Time Range

45-60 min

Group Size

15-35

Space Needed

Desks rearranged into courtroom layout

Bloom’s Level

Analyze, Evaluate, Create

Fun Factor

Peak Energy Moment

The witness cross-examination, when the prosecution attorney challenges the 'merchant witness' and they have to improvise answers in character. Students will fight to stay in role while the room cheers.

The Surprise

Law 48 in the evidence packet (debt forgiveness during storms) directly contradicts the prosecution's 'Hammurabi was cruel' narrative. When the defense pulls this out, it's a genuine 'wait, what?' moment.

What to Expect

The room gets LOUD during closing arguments. Jury members whisper frantically. Students who are usually quiet lean forward during witness examination. At least one student will say 'that's not fair!', and that's exactly the point.

Mission Timeline

30m

Spark Briefing Action Debrief

Academic Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6

When your class is in the room

Ready to run Hammurabi on Trial: Justice or Tyranny??

Launch puts you into the Co-Teacher view - live timer, step-by-step facilitation, in-context tips. You can step back to this overview anytime.

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Spark

3 min • Scenario

Phase at a glance

Teacher does: Project the scenario, then hold 30 seconds of silence while the room reacts.

Students do: React out loud, point, debate before the teacher speaks again.

Read Aloud

A builder constructs a house. The house collapses and kills the owner's son. Under Hammurabi's Code, the builder's son must be put to death. You are the jury. Is this justice? Project this scenario. Let the room react for 30 seconds before speaking.

Social-Emotional Abilities and Competencies Developed

Before starting the mission, present to students the competencies and abilities they will develop. It is important that they understand, in context, what they will be working on within themselves.

Respecting Different ViewpointsRelationship Skills

Holding space for arguments you disagree with long enough to understand them. In this mock trial, that means letting the opposing attorney finish their case without dismissing it, and quoting their evidence accurately when you respond.

Challenge: When the opposing side cites Law 48 or 117, can you restate their point fairly before attacking it?

Most arguments students lose this year will not be lost on facts; they will be lost because they stopped listening before the other person stopped talking. The jurors who change their minds today are practising the exact move that wins real disagreements outside this room.

Evaluating ConsequencesDecision-Making

Weighing the second-order effects of a rule, not just its surface fairness. In this trial, that means asking what Law 196 or 229 actually produced for nobles, commoners, and slaves, not just whether it sounds harsh today.

Challenge: Can you name one group the Code helped AND one group it harmed before you cast your verdict?

Every rule a 9th grader will ever vote on, follow, or break carries consequences for people they will never meet. Practising this on Hammurabi today is rehearsal for thinking through phone-ban votes, dress codes, and the laws they will help write as adults.

Briefing

3 min

Phase at a glance

Teacher does: Assign 2 prosecutors, 2 defenders, 4 witnesses; hand out evidence + role cards.

Students do: Move to assigned seats; attorneys grab evidence packets, jurors take verdict sheets.

What to say

Today we're putting Hammurabi's Code on trial. The question: Was Hammurabi's Code a just legal system, or was it state-sponsored cruelty? I need: 2 prosecutors (arguing it's unjust), 2 defense attorneys (arguing it's just), 4 witnesses (I'll assign you historical roles), and the rest of you are the jury. Prosecutors and defense: you have 10 minutes to prepare your cases using the evidence packets. Witnesses: read your role cards carefully, you must stay in character.

Group Formation

Pick 2 confident speakers for prosecution, 2 for defense. Assign witness roles to students who engage well with reading. Everyone else is jury. Jury members get observation sheets.

Materials Needed

Evidence packet: 8 excerpts from Hammurabi's Code (printed, one per attorney pair)Included
Witness role cards (4 cards: a merchant, a slave, a woman, a nobleman)Included
Jury verdict sheet (one per jury member)Included
•Timer visible to all

Action

30 min • 100% Physical

Phase at a glance

Teacher does: Run as judge: time each round, prompt witnesses with leading questions if testimony goes flat.

Students do: Argue in role: prepare, present openings, cross-examine, close, deliberate as jury.

Step-by-step

Preparation Phase (10 min): Prosecution and defense teams read evidence packets and prepare their arguments. Witnesses read their role cards and prepare to answer questions in character. Jury reviews the observation sheet.

10 min

Circulate between the attorney pairs. If they're stuck, ask: "What specific law from the code supports your argument?" Push them to cite evidence, not just opinions.

Opening Statements (4 min): Prosecution presents their case first (2 min), then defense (2 min). Jury takes notes.

4 min

If a team struggles, prompt them: "Tell the jury WHY this code was harmful/beneficial to society as a whole."

Witness Examination (10 min): Each side calls 2 witnesses. They question them for 2 minutes each. Witnesses must answer in character based on their role card.

10 min

If witness testimony goes flat, you (as judge) can ask a probing follow-up question to deepen the response.

Closing Arguments (4 min): Defense closes first (2 min), then prosecution (2 min). This is their last chance to persuade the jury.

4 min

Jury Deliberation (2 min): Jury discusses quietly and writes their individual verdicts on the verdict sheet. No need for unanimous decision, we want to see the range of opinions.

2 min

Have jury members write their verdict AND one sentence explaining why before the class vote.

If things go sideways

▸If prosecution/defense teams are just listing opinions without evidence: Hand them the code excerpts and say "Show me which specific law supports your claim."
▸If witnesses break character: Gently remind them "Remember, you are a [role]. How would YOU have experienced this code?"
▸If jury seems disengaged: Tell them "In 15 minutes, you will decide this case. Take notes on the strongest argument you hear."
▸If one side is much weaker: As "judge," ask a leading question that helps them find a stronger argument in their evidence packet.

Differentiation Tips

▸For advanced students: Assign them as attorneys or give them the most complex witness roles.
▸For struggling readers: Pair them with a stronger reader on the attorney teams, or give them a witness role with a simpler card.
▸For ELL students: Provide a glossary of key terms from the code excerpts.

Debrief

7 min · 2m discussion · 3m SEL · 1m exit

Phase at a glance

Teacher does: Take a show-of-hands jury vote; ask one juror per side to name their strongest argument.

Students do: Vote, then write one sentence on the exit-ticket defending your verdict.

Discussion Questions

1
Show of hands: How many jurors found Hammurabi's Code to be just? Unjust? Let's hear from one person on each side, what was the strongest argument that convinced you?
2
Here's the deeper question: Can a legal system be unjust by our standards but still be progress for its time? Explain.
3
What elements of Hammurabi's Code do we still see in modern legal systems?

Social-Emotional Reflection

What Happened Here60-90s

I watched the prosecution and the defense both reach for Law 48 today. I saw three of you on the jury take notes during testimony you disagreed with. When the witness for the slave spoke, the room went quieter than it had all class.

Where This Lives in Your Life90s + 15s

Outside this courtroom, you are also the jury. When a friend is being talked about in a group chat and you only have one side of the story, what does it cost you to wait for the other side before you decide? [Hold 15 seconds of silence - do not fill it.]

Your Commitment60s

Pick up your exit ticket. Today you practised respecting different viewpoints. Write down ONE moment this week, name the person, name the place, where you will stop and ask for the other side of the argument before you decide who is right. Specific. Not 'be more open-minded.' One name, one moment.

Exit Ticket

Analytical Question

Quote one specific law from the evidence packet and explain whether it supports the prosecution or the defense, using one sentence of reasoning.

Personal Question

Name one person and one specific situation this week where you will stop and ask for the other side of the argument before deciding they are wrong.

Connection to Next Lesson

Tomorrow we'll look at how Egyptian governance compared to Mesopotamia, a pharaoh-god vs. a law code. Which system would you rather live under?

Handouts

3 Materials Needed

Print Materials

01Evidence Packet
02Witness Role Cards
03Jury Verdict Sheet

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