JOHN WILKES BOOTH -mock trial-information needed-

2/26/03 | CMSPROSECUTION

[cmsprosecution]

Ok, my 8th grad TAG (talented and gifted) class is doing a mock-trial for John Wilkes Booth (even though he didn't live to see the trial). I'm the head lawyer for the prosecution. The defense is trying to claim that John Wilkes Booth !.) he didn't mastermind the plan and 2) he was insane. Does anyone have any idea how to prove that he wasn't insane? Do you have anything that I could possibly use against him? I have a whole notebook full of information but if anything has something that I haven't hear before, I would be very grateful. Thanks for everything!

[harpseal]

In debating his "sanity" I would focus first on his record of being an ardent Confederate supporter agent. I would further note that his rational behavior during his escape was further proof of his insanity. His multiple attempts on Linclon's life further butress your case.

[rellimpank]

--check the book Blood on the Moon--can't remember the author--published probably 2001--

[CobaltBlue]

Actually, the burden of proof of insanity is on the defendant. You don't have to prove that he wasn't insane, you just have to shoot holes in their story.

You should read up on the elements of the defense. What does the defendant have to prove? Do a google search.

Break it down into the different elements, and collect the facts that rebut each element.

I won't do the work for you, but I will be glad to help you learn how to think like a lawyer.

[The Wizard]

Booth was a part of a conspiracy headed by the sec. of War, who greased his escape and kept a lid on the higher up connections.

I recommend you see the Lincoln Conspiracy by David L. Wolper...outstanding

[ContemptofCourt]

To defeat an insanity defense, you need to establish that the defendant knows right from wrong....you could use his plan of escape as such evidence.

Also, there are different standards when establishing insanity...nail down the "judge" on which is in play and just what the defense's burden is.

[rellimpank]

--the book I mentioned above disproves the Stanton conspiracy theory completely.

[meandog]

Actually, if I were the defense lawyer, I'd use a legal theory that Booth was only retaliating for what the NORTH ATTEMPTED FIRST! That's right, the Yanks (Sec. Stanton principally, Lincoln probably didn't know about it) to kill President Jefferson Davis and members of the CSA cabinet. To do the deed they selected a one-legged colonel named Ulrich Dahlgren...he was killed on a raid to Richmond with the evidence found on his body. You can probably find some of what his background was (son of a Union Navy Admiral) on the net.

[lawdave]

You are right. The prosecution does not have to prove Booth was sane. Further the standard for showing insanity is quite high. It is something like an inability to distinguish right from wrong. I don't practice criminal law so I am dredging up old criminal law class knowledge from 20 years ago. He can be as nutty as a fruit cake but still understand that his conduct was wrong. His fleeing the scene shows that he understood that. I would love to hear how the case turns out.

[Arkinsaw]

Check out the book "Come Retribution" which posits that Booth used the broken remnants of the Confederate intelligence service to escape. It might have some useful information for you on premeditation.

[samuel_adams_us]

This would be true, John Wilkes Booth was never found on the garret farm in Virginia and the government hanged the garrets to keep their mouths shut. Fannie Brumbly Holloway Garret was a 9th generation aunt of mine and that is the story passed down by the generations to me. Booth from what I have been told lived to a ripe old age west of the mississippi.

[sphinx]

John Wilkes Booth was never found on the garret farm in Virginia and the government hanged the garrets to keep their mouths shut.

Well, let's see. The government didn't hang the Garretts. Booth was one of the most famous men in America and his body was positively identified by several witnesses. And if you still really believe that Booth lookalike in the Garrett barn somehow wasn't Booth, you have to believe Davey Herold went to the scaffold rather than betray the secret.

Co-conspirator Herold, who had fled with Booth, came out of the barn and surrendered; he was subsequently tried and hung. Booth chose to shoot it out and was mortally wounded. Had that not been Booth in the barn, Herold could have saved himself quite a bit of trouble ....

[Congressman Billybob]

John Wilkes Booth was a very successful actor in his day. Of course, in modern America, being a successful actor is no guarantee that the individual isn't either crazy as a coot or dumb as a post.

You might want to take a look at some of the plays Booth memorized and performed in the two years prior to his assassination of Lincoln. Some will be Shakespearean. All will be highly literate. People who could memorize and perform that are not crazy.

Congressman Billybob

Latest column, now up on UPI, and FR, "Buncombe Rides Again, and Again."

Latest book(let), "to Restore Trust in America."

[CobaltBlue]

Fleeing is something that counts against an insanity defense.

I would say that the entire elaborate nature of the plan from start to finish militates against an insanity defense.

[CoolChange]

I don't have any info for you but my Daughter has been involved with mock trial for the last two years and it is a wonderful activity. They put in at least 10 hours per week after school in preparation. Lots of hard work by both the coaches and students but definately worth watching! Good luck to you and your team.

[sphinx]

People who could memorize and perform that are not crazy.

I agree, Booth was not crazy. Alcoholic, probably. Clinically depressed, very likely. But not legally insane.

As you probably know, Booth's father, Junius Brutus, was a notorious drinker, so it ran in the family. I am partial to the apparently true story of J.B. Booth, also a celebrated actor, being locked in a dressing room to keep him sober before a performance. He had, however, an accomplice in the liquid arts, and he polished off an entire bottle of spirits through a straw inserted through the keyhole. A man's gotta do what he's gotta do.

People of FR know everything, so I'll ask. Brother Edwin continued to perform through the postwar decades and lived long enough to be recorded. Does anyone know where to track down the recordings?

[1L]

Is this a state murder trial, or a federal trial? Or, are you not getting that specific? You might get a copy of either the DC or Federal Rules of Evidence (you can search the web for either) and read those. It would be impressive for you to make valid objections based on the rules, but you would need to read them and try to understand them. They can be complicated to figure out, but the best way to learn to use them is in court, real or mock.

Of course, this assumes rules haven't been taken out of the problem. Good luck. Sorry I can't help you with Booth specific info. I've heard the stories about him ending up in North Texas somewhere in the 1880s, then dying, and having his body mumified and put on display at carnivals.

[aculeus]

I agree, Booth was not crazy. Alcoholic, probably.

Alcoholic definitely, not probably. For why his alcoholism should be viewed as a determining factor in his role as assassin read The Secret History of Alcoholism.

[dighton]

I agree, Booth was not crazy. Alcoholic, probably. / Alcoholic definitely, not probably.

That is one-sided dammyank history, suh!

;-)

[archy]

Consider the BATF Ruby Ridge defense: he was not guilty because he was acting as a federal government agent, on the orders of then Vice-President Johnson, and is thereby immune to and criminal charge brought for a violation of state law, including murder.

There was at that time no federal charge for killing a President or other Federal official- those federal laws weren't instituted until after the murder of JFK in Dallas in 1963.

-archy-/-