Ember’s Story:
A Harrassment Scenario
Scenario
Ember is a 16-year-old Indigenous youth who usually gets along with classmates but had recently been feeling left out of a friend group. Tensions started when Lily, another student, was spending more time with other friends and not including Ember.
One evening, Ember created a group chat with several classmates and began sending repeated negative messages about Lily. Ember called Lily names, spread rumours about her hanging out with a lot of boys, and told others not to talk to her. Over several days, the messages continued, both online and at school, and some students in the chat joined in while others told Ember to stop.
Lily reported the bullying to a teacher after feeling increasingly upset and isolated. She said the repeated messages made her anxious, embarrassed, and unwilling to come to school. Screenshots of the group chat were shared with the principal, who then contacted the police.
Ember has now been charged with criminal harassment under Canadian law, which can include repeated unwanted communication that causes someone to feel unsafe or distressed.
The Crown will argue that Ember’s repeated actions caused real harm to Lily’s well-being and crossed the line from hurtful behaviour into criminal harassment. The Defence will argue that Ember did not fully understand how serious the situation was, that the behaviour was impulsive and driven by hurt feelings, and that Ember did not intend to cause lasting harm.
The case is now being brought before the court.
Roles in the Courtroom
Ember – The student accused of assault.
Ember’s Defence Lawyer(s) – The defence lawyer’s job is to tell Ember’s side of the story in the courtroom. Multiple people can be in this role.
Crown Lawyer(s) – The Crown lawyer works for the community and the government. Their job is to try to prove that the accused person did break the law. Multiple people can be in this role.
Lily the Victim (Crown Witness) – The person who was allegedly assaulted by Ember.
M. Grey Teacher on Recess Duty (Crown Witness) – Was supervising the playground when the incident happened.
Ava Ember’s Friend (Defence Witness) – Who has been friends with Ember for a long time.
M. Redsky Teacher (Defence Witness) – Ember’s parent.
Court Clerk - The court clerk is the judge’s helper. They say “All rise” when the judge comes in and swear in all the wtinesses.
Jury - The jury is a group of regular people from the community. They sit together in court and listen carefully to the trial. Multiple roles.
Courtroom Artist(s) - A courtroom artist is someone who draws pictures of what happens in court because cameras are not allowed in Canadian courtrooms. The artist helps people see what it looked like by sketching the judge, lawyers, witnesses, and the accused.
The Public - The public means regular people who come to watch a trial. They might be family, friends, reporters, or anyone interested. The public does not talk or take part in the trial. Their job is to listen quietly and respectfully. Having the public watch helps make sure the trial is open and fair. Anyone without an assigned role.
The Evidence
Below is all the Evidence or the “Disclosure” in your Mock Trial Scenario.
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I know what I did was wrong, but I want to explain what happened. I had been feeling really left out lately. Lily used to be my friend, but then she started hanging out with other people and I felt ignored. It hurt, and I was angry.
One night, I made a group chat with some of our classmates and I started saying things about Lily. I called her names and spread rumours about her. At the time, I thought I was just venting and that people would understand I was upset. Some of the things I said were really mean, especially about her hanging out with a lot of different boys. I know those things weren’t true, and I shouldn’t have said them.
When I look back now, I can see that it wasn’t just joking around or me letting out my feelings. It actually hurt Lily and made her not want to come to school. That wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t mean to cause that much harm, but I can see now that I went too far. I wish I had handled my feelings differently instead of taking it out on her.
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Ember used to be my friend, but lately things have changed. A few weeks ago, Ember made a group chat and started sending messages about me. She called me names and spread rumours that I was hanging out with multiple boys. It was embarrassing and made me feel disgusting.
The messages didn’t just stop there, Ember kept saying things in the chat and also at school in front of people. Some kids laughed, and others told her to stop, but she didn’t. I felt really anxious and didn’t want to come to school because I was scared of what people were saying about me. I showed the teacher the messages because I didn’t know what else to do. This has really hurt me and made me feel isolated.
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I am a teacher at the school. Lily came to me visibly upset and told me about the group chat. She showed me screenshots of the messages Ember had been sending. The messages included name-calling and rumours about Lily.
Based on what I saw, these messages were not one-time comments; they were repeated over several days and seen by multiple students. Lily expressed that she felt unsafe, anxious, and embarrassed to be at school. I immediately reported the situation to the principal, who then involved the police. In my opinion, the behaviour clearly crossed the line from teasing into harassment.
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I’ve been friends with Ember for a long time. I know Ember has been struggling lately with feeling left out, especially when Lily started hanging out with other people more. Ember told me she was hurt and angry.
I did see some of the group chat messages. I won’t deny that they were mean, but I think Ember didn’t realize how serious it was. She was upset and venting, but she wasn’t trying to completely destroy Lily. I think Ember got carried away because of her feelings, not because she wanted to cause lasting harm. Ember is usually a good person and a loyal friend, she just made a bad choice.
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I teach Ember in several classes and have worked with her on school projects. In my experience, Ember is usually respectful, engaged in her work, and gets along with others. I have not seen her act in a bullying or aggressive way in my classroom before.
I believe this situation came from Ember being frustrated and not handling her emotions well. While I agree that what happened was hurtful and wrong, it is not typical behaviour for Ember. From what I have seen, she has the ability to learn from this and change her actions. I do not believe Ember truly intended to cause serious or lasting harm.
