State vs Mann

Today in class, there was a mock trial taking place. The case that was being reviewed was the case of State vs Mann. In this case my role was to defend the state of North Carolina in proceeding to give John Mann his $10.00 fine for injuring a slave that was not his. Before we get into my argument in the case, I would like to give some historical background on the actions that got Mr. Mann in the predicament he has found himself in. Mr. Mann began to rent a slave named Lydia from a slave owner in the state of North Carolina. He was given possession of her for the duration of a year. During this duration of time the slave Lydia made a mistake and would have to find herself punished for her actions. During this predicament Mr. Mann found it suitable to whip the slave for her actions but the slave found a way to run away. As she began to ran Mr. Mann pulled out his firearm and shot the slave but only injured her. This has lead our court to fine Mr. Mann for his actions.

My role as stated earlier in this blog was to defend the state of North Carolina in proceeding to give Mr. Mann a ten dollar fine for injuring the slave Lydia. In my argument I brought up the element of religion and how it pertained to this case. One finding that I found was from the old testament which stated that "If a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod and he dies at his hand, he shall be punished." (Exodus 21:20). This is a valid argument due to the fact that in the court case Mann shot the slave he was possessing as injured her which calls for some sort of punishment. Though my team had a solid argument for fining Mr. Mann, the court ruled in favor of Mr. Mann and he did not have to pay the ten dollar fine for his actions.