Mock Trial Speech

This speech was written to defend Jordan Brattons accusation for the murder of
Preston Palmer. It was written by Kaylee Chung for the mock trial auditions held in
April 2014.

We base our future goals on our likes and dislikes. As we grow older, we find who
we want to be. We fantasize about the day where our dreams -- we have diligently worked for
-- will become reality. Jordan Bratton was no different. Since childhood, his lone dream in
life was to become a successful comedian. Bratton worked hard to pursue his dream by
performing comedy gigs at parks, coffee shops, nightclubs, and shopping malls. By February
2008, he had an opportunity to become a comedian when he moved to Hollyville, the comedy
capital of the world. The economy crisis in 2008 also added to Bratton's advantage since U.S.
citizens turned to comedy as a safe haven. By January 2009, Bratton became the successful
comedian he desired to be. He had an accomplishment of 1,000 followers on Twitter.
However, life is no box of chocolates. On April 1, 2009, Preston Palmer, the mightiest
intimidator of the criticism world, reviewed Bratton's performance at the Hollyville Comedy
Club. Palmer aggressively stated that watching Bratton perform was one of the biggest
regrets he had in life. Immediately, all of Jordan Bratton's future jobs were cancelled.
However, Bratton continued to pursue his dream by performing his last non-paying act as a
clown. He never gave up. Unfortunately, Palmer's review quickly spread leaving Bratton
jobless.
On April 13, 2009 Palmer was seen at the Hollyville Coffee Shop from 6 to 9 p.m. At
9:30, Morgan Bernard, saw Palmer driving into his neighborhood. At 9:50, Bernard found
Preston Palmer strangled and dead. Jordan Bratton claimed to be at a comedy club from 7 to
10 p.m. However, because of Palmer's review, Bratton had not preformed at the club.
Today, Detective Kendal Malone will explain how tire tracks were found directly
behind Palmer's home. Malone states that these tire tracks were the exact match as Bratton's
Century Buick. Bratton claims that he pulled over the curb while he was driving to his friend,
Dani Levinson's home. Although tire tracks were found, no footprints indicated that Bratton
never walked out of the car. Malone was also allowed a search warrant for the murder
weapon, gloves, and tire tracks. Malone found a package of gloves. However, the receipt for
the gloves was dated on March 1, 2009, long before Palmer's post about Bratton's
performance. Although Malone suspected Bratton's microphone as a possible murder weapon,
many people such as Dani Levinson and even one of our witnesses today, Ryan Howard, own
the same microphone. Therefore, there is not substantial amount of evidence to point out that
Bratton murdered Preston Palmer.
The witnesses Taylor Hudson and Ryan Howard will testify against Bratton. They
will explain about the feud between Palmer and Bratton. Since Palmer was a harsh critic, it
would not have been uncommon for Palmer to have made enemies. Since many people on the
web have seen Bratton's dispute, Palmer's foes may have thought of this to be an opportunity
to frame Bratton and kill Palmer.
No DNA or blood droplets of Bratton's have been exposed at the site of Palmer's
death. No murder weapons have been in Bratton's possession. No significant evidence is
found to prosecute Bratton. For these reasons, the defendant should be found not guilty.