Got consent trial puts Team Kirtland in jury box

  • Published
  • By Jim Fisher
  • Kirtland Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico --  The now annual Got Consent mock trials conducted at bases around the Air Force are meant to start a conversation among Airmen about sexual assault. Members of the Kirtland Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office have taken the trial a couple of steps further, bringing an innovative courtroom experience to Team Kirtland.

The courtroom sessions take place at the Phillips Conference Center (Bldg. 201, on Kirtland Drive near the west side of the base) April 1 (9-11 a.m.), 8 (1-3 p.m.) and 15 (1-3 p.m.). The three sessions are designated for E-1 to E-6, leadership, and the general base populace, respectively, according to DJ Babbitt, a SAPR specialist at the Kirtland SARC office. The separate breakouts are part of the innovations at Kirtland, she said, and meant to facilitate real conversations about the issues.

"We know that Airmen do not talk as freely when leadership is present," she said. "We also know that we can use the ideas and concepts discussed to help leadership to widen their point of view. We are also eager to include civilians, because as of this year, we can now receive restricted reporting from civilians. We want them to know our services are available. Of course, we are not going to kick anyone out for showing up on the wrong day."

Kirtland SARC officials have not only improved on the mock trial format by expanding the capacity of the event to include everyone who may want to take part, but the Kirtland Legal Office acts out many of the parts, and every member of the audience is part of the jury panel, Babbitt said.

The trial is based on an actual case which was recorded for training. In three years at Kirtland the mock trial has evolved considerably, she explained.

"We have absolutely changed the whole process up," Babbitt said. "Our process is more interactive, and people have more fun with that. Our JAG folks have been so excited to take part and they are really involved in it artistically, as actors. It also gives you both sides--the SARC and the JAG. The best thing is that it's not a lecture, it's not mandatory training, it's not a CBT--it's entertainment."

The most productive part of the event sometimes comes after the trial, when people discuss how the evidence led them to vote," Babbitt said, adding that the case is not cut and dried.
"This case looks a lot like many of the cases we see:  two people who know each other, where alcohol was involved and multiple witnesses made conflicting assertions about the events surrounding the case. Our intent is not to convince anyone to vote guilty, but rather to spur a discussion about what consent really is, what it looks like," she said.

Just because someone has taken part in past years shouldn't keep them from attending again, Babbitt explained.

"The votes and the conversations are different each time. And we see an evolution in ideas and awareness of SAPR issues each year."