Stipulated Facts
Driftwood City High School is located on the coast. At the school, honor students vigorously compete with each other hoping to gain entry to the nation’s top colleges. Every year, the English department creates a final exam for all its honors literature classes. The department administers the exam both as a
grade in Honors English Literature and to determine the recipients of three Distinguished Writers Foundation (“DWF”) scholarships to college. The DWF was established by graduates of Driftwood High to promote the school and the study of literature. The scholarship recipients are announced at graduation. In 2003, the exam was given on May 30, two weeks before graduation.
In recent years, there have been problems at Driftwood City High with cheating. To crack down on cheaters, the administration instituted an honor system in which students are required to
report incidents of cheating. Those who know about cheaters and who fail to report them are treated the same as the cheaters themselves. For the first offense, the offender gets a one-day suspension and a failing grade on the assignment in question. A second offense results in an “F” in the class and a permanent demerit in the student’s school record. This rule is rigorously enforced and allows for no exceptions. In 2002, students Beck Martin and Cody Ward had been caught cheating. Both were first-time offenders.
In the Spring of 2003, Beck, Cody, and Anne Marcus were seniors at Driftwood. They had known each other for years from participating together in academic programs, and all three had been on the honor roll. Anne was a tall 17-year-old girl and an avid rock climber, known to climb regularly at Ballena
Beach. Beck and Cody were both of slight build, were slightly taller than Anne, and were athletes. Beck was a rower and captain on the school’s crew team, and Cody ran cross-country on the track team. All three were in Larry Molina’s Honors English Literature, and each had been accepted at Empire University for the fall. They took the test on May 30 as scheduled.
PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE ALSO STIPULATE THE FOLLOWING FACTS:
1. The English exam photocopy had both Beck Martin’s and Cody Ward’s handwriting on it.
2. Anne Marcus and Beck Martin have type A blood.
3. Dr. Aidan Hobbes and DR. Sage Gracian are qualified expert witnesses and can testify to each other’s statements.
4. Larry Molina, Aunt Myra, Beck Martin’s parents and his minister, and the individual who found the body
are unavailable to testify.
5. All witness statements were taken in a timely manner.
6. The vandalized locker belonged to Anne Marcus.
7. For purposes of this trial, on June 6, 2003, sunset was at 8:04 p.m. and high tide was at 8:48 p.m.
grade in Honors English Literature and to determine the recipients of three Distinguished Writers Foundation (“DWF”) scholarships to college. The DWF was established by graduates of Driftwood High to promote the school and the study of literature. The scholarship recipients are announced at graduation. In 2003, the exam was given on May 30, two weeks before graduation.
In recent years, there have been problems at Driftwood City High with cheating. To crack down on cheaters, the administration instituted an honor system in which students are required to
report incidents of cheating. Those who know about cheaters and who fail to report them are treated the same as the cheaters themselves. For the first offense, the offender gets a one-day suspension and a failing grade on the assignment in question. A second offense results in an “F” in the class and a permanent demerit in the student’s school record. This rule is rigorously enforced and allows for no exceptions. In 2002, students Beck Martin and Cody Ward had been caught cheating. Both were first-time offenders.
In the Spring of 2003, Beck, Cody, and Anne Marcus were seniors at Driftwood. They had known each other for years from participating together in academic programs, and all three had been on the honor roll. Anne was a tall 17-year-old girl and an avid rock climber, known to climb regularly at Ballena
Beach. Beck and Cody were both of slight build, were slightly taller than Anne, and were athletes. Beck was a rower and captain on the school’s crew team, and Cody ran cross-country on the track team. All three were in Larry Molina’s Honors English Literature, and each had been accepted at Empire University for the fall. They took the test on May 30 as scheduled.
PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE ALSO STIPULATE THE FOLLOWING FACTS:
1. The English exam photocopy had both Beck Martin’s and Cody Ward’s handwriting on it.
2. Anne Marcus and Beck Martin have type A blood.
3. Dr. Aidan Hobbes and DR. Sage Gracian are qualified expert witnesses and can testify to each other’s statements.
4. Larry Molina, Aunt Myra, Beck Martin’s parents and his minister, and the individual who found the body
are unavailable to testify.
5. All witness statements were taken in a timely manner.
6. The vandalized locker belonged to Anne Marcus.
7. For purposes of this trial, on June 6, 2003, sunset was at 8:04 p.m. and high tide was at 8:48 p.m.