The Fresno State DUI Mock Trial performance Wednesday, March 28, is designed to educate students soon to depart for spring break (April 2-6) about the dangers and consequences of driving under the influence.

This year’s event, which was presented in New York earlier this month by Mock Trial students, will be begin at 6 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union on campus. The trial will be preceded at 4:30 p.m. outside the building with educational activities and a display by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Fresno County Superior Court Judge Brant K. Bramer will preside over the mock trial in which Fresno State criminology students portray the defendant, lawyers, officers, witnesses and the jury.

The scenario involves a fictitious Fresno State student but is based on facts and heard by a real judge. Bramer also presided over the first event on campus in 2010.

The jury will deliver a verdict and Bramer will decide the penalty, using current sentencing guidelines, said criminology professor Dr. Mark Stevens, who developed the case to replicate a DUI trial.

This event is sponsored by Fresno State’s Alcohol Safety Committee in the Division of Student Affairs, the university’s Department of Public Health and Alpha Phi Sigma, the national criminal justice honor society, which represents the Department of Criminology.

Several community organizations and agencies are also participating.

“It is important that students be informed about California’s DUI and implied consent laws when they choose to consume alcohol.” Stevens said.

While organizers are targeting Fresno State students, the free event is open to the community and local schools were encouraged to send driving-age students, said Dr. Greg Thatcher of the Alcohol Safety Committee and the university’s Department of Public Health.

He is coordinating the pre-trial activities that will include local organizations such as:

  • MADD, which will erect a 40-foot display with an interactive DUI-related crash site.
  • Local police departments, who will provide mock DUI vehicle checkpoints.
  • Donaghy, a distributor of alcohol beverages, which will staff an awareness booth about responsible alcohol use.

Stevens developed the DUI Mock Trial Education Program at North Carolina Wesleyan College before joining the Fresno State faculty. He was asked by Dr. Paul M. Oliaro, vice president for Student Affairs and chair of the Alcohol Safety Committee, to develop a program for Fresno State students.

Five of his students, all members of the National Criminal Justice Honor Society at Fresno State, conducted a mock trial in New York at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. The Fresno State team involved students from other colleges and universities in the presentation.

John Owen, a Fresno State criminology lecturer, played the judge in the New York version, with Dr. Barbara Owen, a criminology professor and his sister, as the bailiff.

Oliaro encouraged the community to get involved with the Alcohol Safety Committee and help promote its awareness programs to all students.

For more information, contact Stevens at mstevens@csufresno.edu, 559.278.5416; Thatcher at gthatcher@csufresno.edu, 559.278.8807; or Paul Oliaro at poliaro@csufresno.edu, 559-278-2541.

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