Future Interrogators
Mar. 18th, 2010 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alt_padmaMonday we divided up into teams in Future Interrogators and practised the rules of order. In the Wizengamot you can't just speak up whenever you want, but it's not like in lessons, either, when the teacher asks a question and you raise your hands. The Mugwump (that's the head of the Wizengamot) asks the questions and the witness has to answer. There's also a time when they can make statements, and when the other side gets to examine. That means ask questions and try to prove that the witness is lying.
So we practised the things you can and can't say, ways to examine witnesses. We used the records from old cases, including this one called Ministry v Hooper. It was held in 1760 and it concerned a wizard who wanted to go about catching Muggles who were trying to burn witches (and wizards, but mostly witches). Of course, back then, the Code of Secrecy was in place, so the Ministry wasn't as strong as it is now, because they were sort of stuck pandering to the Muggles, which was ridiculous, of course. So Hooper was brought up on charges of vigilantism and performing magic in front of Muggles (since he would stupefy them and Obliviate them and everything else when he was capturing them).
We talked about the case and the laws as they were at the time, but then we turned it round and defended Hooper based on today's standards. It's no surprise that the Ministry lost, but of course, that was the point, wasn't it. They were wrong back then, but now that we have the Lord Protector and we've put Muggles in their proper places, we don't need to worry about doing magic in front of them. Today Hooper would have been a hero, and he should have been then, too, but things were ever so backward.
Anyway, I really like Future Interrogators. It's just that it's on Mondays, which are really long. But Mondays won't be so bad next year.
Oh, History Club this week was St Patrick's day, so Finnigan told us stories about St Patrick and how he cast all sorts of dead useful spells, including one that drove the snakes out of Ireland. It was nift.
So we practised the things you can and can't say, ways to examine witnesses. We used the records from old cases, including this one called Ministry v Hooper. It was held in 1760 and it concerned a wizard who wanted to go about catching Muggles who were trying to burn witches (and wizards, but mostly witches). Of course, back then, the Code of Secrecy was in place, so the Ministry wasn't as strong as it is now, because they were sort of stuck pandering to the Muggles, which was ridiculous, of course. So Hooper was brought up on charges of vigilantism and performing magic in front of Muggles (since he would stupefy them and Obliviate them and everything else when he was capturing them).
We talked about the case and the laws as they were at the time, but then we turned it round and defended Hooper based on today's standards. It's no surprise that the Ministry lost, but of course, that was the point, wasn't it. They were wrong back then, but now that we have the Lord Protector and we've put Muggles in their proper places, we don't need to worry about doing magic in front of them. Today Hooper would have been a hero, and he should have been then, too, but things were ever so backward.
Anyway, I really like Future Interrogators. It's just that it's on Mondays, which are really long. But Mondays won't be so bad next year.
Oh, History Club this week was St Patrick's day, so Finnigan told us stories about St Patrick and how he cast all sorts of dead useful spells, including one that drove the snakes out of Ireland. It was nift.
