The audience voted to pick the winner. This is just over one hour. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Shakespeare Theatre company bard Associations Annual dinner and mock trial. Before we begin murder in mycenae, take this time to silence all electronic devices. Photography of tonights trial is strictly prohibited. Now please join me in welcoming chair of the Board AssociationBard Association. [applause] thank you so much for joining us. I said earlier all of the things we do watching plays, feeding on the board being on the board, the mock trials and Bard Association is the most joyous. Tonights dinner and mock trial is presented by the Bard Association, an Affinity Group among many that support this theater. Tonights argument is based on the text of the oresteia, which was adapted from the originals. With a chronicles of the delusion of violence deluge of violence that can only be rsopped when society pee into its own soul and sees a way out. Our performance, which was our beloved artistic directors last here at the end of 33 years of being our artistic director. [applause] a closed not long ago to critical acclaim both those who write about it and those in the audience. If you didnt see it, let me set tonight stage. Agamemnon killed his youngest daughter as a sacrifice for military success in the war against troy. After 10 years of war, greece enraged, he returns home and is murdered by his wife clytemnestra. Following this tradition, their son, orestes, with the encouragement of his sister electra, then murders clytemnestra, a crime for which he is ultimately pardoned. In other words, with all going on in his family, it was kind of like the great early version of an episode of keeping up with the kardashians. [laughter] isupon orestes return, he plagued by nightmares. He hears voices in his head. He files a lawsuit seeking compensatory damages against his sister, alleging it was her actions that were the proximate cause of his mental state and the damage to his reputation. Orestes case was tried before a jury, who found in favor that electra and taken advantage had taken advantage of his mental state and her act was the proximate cause of his emotional distress. Electra appeals, arguing the jurys verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence and contrary to the law, and that the award was excessive. The Circuit Court of appeals of athens affirms the verdict and electra appeals for the following question. Did electra intentionally or recklessly use orestes as the instrumentality to murder their mother, thereby causing psychological or reputational damage to orestes . At the conclusion of tonights argument, you will vote on the following question did electra intentionally or recklessly use orestes as the instrumentality to murder their mother . At the end of the arguments, if you believe that Trial Court Decision was correct and should be upheld, looked with a blue token vote with a blue token. If you believe it should be overturned, vote with a red token. Please first welcome united. Tates Supreme Court marshall [applause] and counsel for the petitioner electra. [applause] counsel for the respondent orestes from the constitutional accountability center. [applause] in just a moment, we will welcome the members of the esteemed bench. They will be called to the bench by the marshall, and presiding in the Supreme Court of athens for the scenario will be United StatesSupreme Court justices ginsburg and breyer, from the United States court of appeals for the Third Circuit , and from the United StatesDistrict Courts from the district of columbia. Thank you for being with us tonight. Enjoy the trial. Please, marshall, take the gavel. All rise. [applause] the Supreme Court of athens is now in session. Please be seated. The Supreme Court of athens the now hear arguments in versus electra. From thell first hear council representing electra and judgmento overturn the of the courts below. You may proceed. Justice, ichief would like to reserve five minutes of time for rebuttal. King orestes is not pleased that he is unpopular in the public polling. He brought this suit against his sister electra to diver attention from his failure to make athens great again. [laughter] the court should say no to this attack. Orestes tells this court a story that is different from the one that he told the other court that acquitted him of murder. Apollohe claimed it was group f through fox and friends that led him to murder. [laughter] as for the kings claim of a proximate cause, electra did not recklessly causing injury to her brother. When she spoke with orestes at the tomb of agamemnon she was caught off guard, she thought orestes was dead. Repeatedly spoke of himself as a stable genius and how he knew more of everything than did electra. It is plain as day that orestes already had resolved to murder his mother when he snuck back into the city. Otherwise orestes would have arranged a homecoming and demented t demanded the Buckingham Palace banquet approach that he prefers. The oracle hannity explained orestes should return to arrest his mother to free up his ability to take the throne and become king. That night proves nothing. Orestes demented demanded electra hand her the night. Orestes has invoked executive privilege to refuse to provide an answer to a subpoena for his sword. And he refused his tax returns to be released so we can deduct purchase of weaponry. There is no evidence to support king orestess claim to damage. Damage to reputation . Seriously. The word shorted is etched in stone at the house. Infanticide, matricide, cannibalism, incest, and treachery of every sort has long been attached to orestes family name. Orestes continues to rule. He presented the people with his personal physicians letter that he is the healthiest ever to be king. Apollo, the god of healing. Of damagess claim subterfuge damage is subterfuge. Damage award for electra may mean debt imprisonment or worse. This is all and good what you said, but your client had an unusual talent. se put things into people heads. She gave clytemnestra bad dreams. Isnt it likely with that talent, she did the same thing to her brother orestes . She put ideas into his head that would not have been there if she hadnt put them there. Did not plan to put any ideas into orestes h ead. Servant. Een 10 years a she had them put any decision without any decisionmaking, without any ability to be out in the world like orestes. And indeed, your honor, if electra had the intent and obsession to kill their mother, she had all of that time to use a much more feminine guile of poisoning against clytemnestra, yet she never took that upon herself. But she repeatedly said, i will have my revenge, it will be to my brother, my brother. [laughter] beth she commiserated with her brother. [laughter] beth this was only after orestes came back and was explaining to her what apollo and the oracle had told him to do. Your version of this conversation does not match the transcript released by wikileaks. [laughter] beth your honor, my client was unable to release any recording of that transcription. We know the credibility of core questionable because of his inconsistent story. He saved his own life by blaming apollo, and now he blames his sister electra. I wonder if there is another culprit involved that might be consistent with your theory of innocence. Is it possible that orestes, during his travels, had a stay at a resort in a Dominican Republic . [laughter] beth certainly orestes was a man of the world and had traveled far and wide, and came back to mycenae under the dark of night and viewed his sister as a noncitizen. He labeled her an alien. He suggested he could build a wall to exclude all women from the city. Could i ask you another question . In your brief, you suggest apollo is to blame because he is the god of medicine and he failed to treat orestes health condition. Doesnt that depend on orestes coverage . I thought that his Mental Health state was a preexisting condition. [laughter] [applause] surely he is still not on his Parents Health coverage. Beth now with his parents both dead, i assume that Health Coverage has expired. [laughter] beth as a ruler of the kingdom, he certainly has access to health care that he has attempted to deny to citizens, let alone the aliens within his jurisdiction. You are in the court of appeals of athens and you dont speak greek . [applause] [laughter] merecome here as a noncitizen myself, your honor. I have been denied the ability for a true education, your honor, so i feel lucky enough to be here. Certainly can one can hope of the day women are afforded the same rights of education as the men. [applause] you possibly answer what electra has said . She condemns herself from her own mouth. She said, he held the knife, its true, but only because i handed it to him. So she is waiting for her brother to return. She has a nice especially made for him. He wielded a knife, but she gave it to him. Beth but she gave it to him not out of voluntariness. This was her brother who had been gone for 10 years, who she yearned for to commiserate the loss of their sister at the rivers and of their father agamemnon. Then the death of their father at the hand of clytemnestra. She looked to him as a soulmate, someone to commiserate with. It was only after he came to her at the tomb of agamemnon and surprised her and brought forth to her the story from the oracle and apollo that he was destined. Twitterd on orestes account that he has been cocked and loaded and ready to commit the murder. I asked his general help many people might die, and he called it off. [laughter] [applause] your honor, i think that goes back to this court question that he already planned to carry this out after speaking with apollo. Was he lying then or is he lying now . I dont understand this i am very confused about the facts. [laughter] when you talk about incest, and fantasize infanticide he did not decide he was going to murder somebody atreus kills his own brother, then we have the two children of atreus, agamemnon and menelaus. Agamemnon kills his daughter, then after he kills his daughter, then comes clytemnestra, who murders agamemnon. No yes, murders agamemnon, exactly. This is a seriously dysfunctional family. [applause] we will respond to that and then reserve time for rebuttal. Beth that proves the point that there are no damages here. What reputation could possibly be harmed through that . He doesnt need a judge, he needs a therapist. By the way, my wife is a therapist. We know orestes was the only one in the room where it happened. [applause] electra was not there. Regardless of the knife, it was orestes who murdered clytemnestra and cannot be called to blame electra for that. Thank you, your honor. [applause] please proceed. Good evening madam chief justice. Isfriends on the other side impressive, no doubt, but she said nothing that would shed down on the wise advice of the oracle at delphi, to file this suit against electra for intentionally exploiting orestes Mental Illness to cause him to murder their mother. Not only are the two Lower Court Judgments on his side, but you seem like a really nice court, so i feel like it is important to say that the favor of the god apollo and athena are also on my clients side. I understand madam chief justice as a vigorous workout routine, but the goddess athena can be very vengeful. [laughter] your honor, my client orestes has suffered greatly. Murdered bygamemnon his mother, and after hearing his fathers dying screams, orestes was haunted by a deteriorated mental state. He was confused and vulnerable. He thought he heard voices. Seizing upon his feeble state, electra coerced him into killing their mother, confessing herself while chief justice said, orestes did the deed, it was only because electra handed the murder weapon to him. This was not cool and it definitely not very legal and definitely not very legal. This court should affirm the finding of the courts below. Electras actions caused extreme damage to orestes soul, his psyche, his social standing. The chain of causality is clear. But for electras manipulation of his Mental Illness, he would not have killed his mother. But for killing his mother, he would not have suffered a meltdown, taking them from a prince capable of conversation and introspection, riding down the golden escalator into mycenae, instead turning him into a madman king, calling out for his dead daddy, terrified of birds, and taking to fits of crying on the floor. He had potential to be a great ruler, but now is subject to gossip and undermining and witch hunts. Trumpus would say, sad. [applause] courts judgment and the substantial damages awarded, electra will escape the consequence is of her actions. We should not allow that to happen. Counsel, you omitted one very important fact. When orestes returned, before he he announcesctra, that he is going to kill his mother because apollo commanded him to do that. Plan from the very beginning. Before hedoing it even sees his sister. Then she is a good big sister. She supports him, encourages him. [laughter] the idea is all his. I dont know how many times in madeecord he said apollo me do it, apollo, apollo. Everyones did never once did he try to cast blame on his sister. I think we should take orestes seriously, but not literally. [laughter] when he said apollo made him do it, he did, your honor, think at that moment that apollo was telling him to do it, but because electra put those thoughts into his mind, so it is a consistent argument that a the timet he might have thought that apollo wanted him to do it. He kept coming back to the oracle. I dont know why you say electra was the approximate cost when the oracle clearly had the most influence. It was the oracle that told them to kill his mother, to sue his sister. Honestly, the oracle has had many as distinct advisor roles as mick mulvaney. [applause] with that much influence, how can you say it was electras fault . I think we have an acting oracle right now. [laughter] [applause] i dont know they have been able to confirm this oracle. I will grant you that fate did declare clytemnestra must die for her action. Im kind of worried following up on Justice Powell athena, she of the bronze bicep, these furies, have they started visiting you after orestes . What is a chance they will follow up on us after your client . I have to say the furies are very good at trolling, so make your dms private. That is my recommendation. [laughter] the whole story is a bit questionable. You claim orestes was grieving his father at the tomb when electra intervened. Some of the survey women with electra said servantwomen let electra said why did we bryce harper go to the phillies . [laughter] i dont want to step on justice beavis toes. I think this is a perfect example why we need an excessive damage award against electra. Damages,en it comes to it is difficult to understand why you are maintaining this suit, because electra is afraid. She is judgmentproof. Attempt tois just an he will not be able to collect any damages from her. I disagree. First she can afford this cozy burlington down jacket. [laughter] secondly, she has married a actually it is one of the few greek provinces where women are permitted to own property. I thought she had an agreement with mexico to pay . I think they are paying in theory. She has resources. She married this wealthy crown prince. She is able to own property in that state. Her claims of poverty here should not fly with this court. Is this in the record . I believe the oracle told me about this. The oracle, wikipedia. I dont understand why your claim is based that orestes suffered reputational injury. Over the past few years, his aides have repeated that he is the best and able king mycenae has ever had, with the biggest crowds and move devoted followers most devoted followers. I hear the any will fireworks celebrations will be turned into an orestes fest and everyone is fine with it. [laughter] you cannot deny that if orestes shot someone on 5th avenue, the attorney general would not prosecute him. He has a great reputation. Orestes does hear voices in his head, so i cannot take all of his claims exactly literally. Look this is ancient greece. Greece, i amncient still confused. Withes falls in love hermione, hermione is in love with peers and he has a son, and then, my god, what happens is hermione talks orestes into killing pyrrhus. You dont get it . I will spell it out. That hermionees, talked him into killing pyrrhus. Now he is saying electra talked him into killing clytemnestra. I mean, really. For me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. [applause] your honor, your claim illustrates the foolishness of the claim of electra that because it involves family drama, it is not appropriate for the court. This is ancient greece. Entiree ea our belief system is based on family drama. Athena did not just spring from zeus head yesterday. She knows orestes should have been pardoned because he is innocent. He was taken advantage of by his sister. His acting defense secretary to move the ship . [laughter] out aelieve he did put couple tweets to that effect. Look he had a asked her daughtern an extra daughter. [laughter] that is why you have more than one. The jury only got acquitted because Kim Kardashian begged at hena to pardon him. We need to move further away from lock her up and more may it please the court. That is what orestes is trying to do today. Can i ask you a hypothetical . Not to upstage my dear colleagues. What about orestes motivation documentsred in the after the untimely passage of one of his associates . Canure, at temple, you represent one thing to us in litigation. We could be told that orestes believed the question, hey, why dont you kill our mother . Was a legitimate one because it would somehow protect minorities in mycenae, but what if everyone realized orestess real motivation was to redraw the electoral maps and secure power for himself . Shouldnt we just vacate this case . [applause] excellent question. I think we will find out probably later this week. R, thesolutely, your hono motivation is important. He was manipulated through conniving machinations through electr