Shakespeare Moot: Measure for Measure

Angelo and Duke Vincentio from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure went on trial last night at The Inner Temple.  The mock trial was a collaboration between The Dickson Poon School of Law, King's College London and the Department of English.

12 King's students played the parts of the witnesses and the jury. The distinguished judges were Lord Judge, Lady Justice Arden and Professor David D Caron.  

Measure for Measure, one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays, ends with a trial in which Angelo is the accused. The Judge, Duke Vincentio, is the ruler of Vienna. He has resumed his authority after an absence during which Angelo was in charge and committed the crimes he is accused of. At the end of the trial the Duke pardons Angelo. 

King's mock trial questioned the legality of the Duke’s pardon of Angelo.  The student prosecutors sought a reversal of the pardon granted Angelo and argued that the law should be strictly applied and Angelo found guilty of blackmail and corruption. The second part of the trial questioned the Duke’s legal and moral responsibility for maladministration and for relinquishing his obligations as a ruler.  King's student prosecutors sought that the Court find the Duke guilty of dereliction of duty and that the Court declare void the Duke’s later trial at the end of Measure for Measure. King's student jury found both Angelo and Duke Vincentio guilty – Angelo guilty of blackmail and corruption and Duke Vincentio of dereliction of office. 

The event was the culmination of the Shakespeare & the Law module jointly taught by The Dickson Poon School of Law and the Department of English. The module addresses the role of the law in mediating the place of the individual within society, considering private legal issues pertaining to marriage, betrothal, contracts, property and inheritance. Students also engage with the public aspects of Elizabethan law that Shakespeare would have been familiar with, addressing the legal implications of early modern debates about the power of the monarch, the responsibilities of a nation towards its ruler (and vice versa), and principles governing the succession. 

Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Judge closed the proceedings by describing the enduring relevance of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure as a compelling exploration of power and conscience.  

Professor Lorenzo Zucca and Dr Hannah Crawforth are joint leaders of the Shakespeare & the Law module.

Photos

See photos from the event on Flickr.

Watch on YouTube

Shakespeare400

The event was part of the Shakespeare400 -  a consortium of leading cultural, creative and educational institutions in and around London, together creating a season of events during 2016 to celebrate four hundred years of Shakespeare.