On September 26, a mock trial was held at the Telavi District Court, where the prosecuting and defendant parties were presented by the Telavi Legal Aid Bureau attorneys. The indictment in the premeditated murder case was considered by a "jury”, staffed mainly with young people from Telavi. They listened attentively to both sides, asked numerous questions, discussed much of the evidence presented by the prosecution, and finally, despite differences of opinion, reached a verdict of acquittal.
It is noteworthy that most of the "jurors" have never attended the trial. They admitted that they found the current case interesting for them and they gained a lot of experience by participating in the discussion. Consequently, if they ever really have to participate in a real jury trial, that experience will be very helpful for them.
It should be noted that the mock trial of jurors, in which the jurors and the trial attendants must be residents of a particular region, aims to raise the legal awareness of the population and potentially prepare them for real participation in jury trials.
The project of the Legal Aid Service is implemented within the framework of the legal awareness campaign - movement "Make the law accessible to all". It is supported by USAID-PROLoG and COE.