On one side of the courtroom: a tiny trickster, accused of stealing a 鈥減recious鈥� and powerful object. On the other: a broken shell of what was once a man, fevered in rage to reclaim what was once his.
Cue the gavel 鈥斅燼nd welcome to Middle Earth.
Law students and community members gathered to watch JRR Tolkien鈥檚 classic book The Hobbit turned into a theatrical court case last Thursday night at the sixth-annual Weldon Literary Moot. The annual event, organized by students in Dal鈥檚 Schulich School of Law with the support of volunteer actors and legal professionals, is a fundraiser for , a barrier-free humanities education program for adults living below the poverty line in Halifax and Dartmouth.
鈥淚t is such a wonderful program,鈥� said Justice Jamie Campbell, Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice who presided over the moot (a term for a mock trial) for the third straight year. 鈥淚 think it is one of the treasures of the city.鈥�
Halifax Humanities 101 Director Mary Lu Roffey-Redden spoke at the start of the event, which in previous years has tackled such iconic works as Frankenstein, Alice鈥檚 Adventures in Wonderland and The Odyssey.
鈥淲e do terrible things to great books,鈥� said Roffey-Redden, speaking to the irreverent nature of the proceedings. 鈥淲e usually offend fans, and I鈥檓 sure we will tonight.鈥� Justice Campbell also joked that, 鈥渨hen lawyers are allowed to have at a piece of literature, they cannot help themselves but to tear out its very soul.鈥�
Jokes and tributes
As such, the night was filled with jokes, gags and inside references that delighted the capacity crowd in the Weldon Law Building and took hilarious liberties with Tolkien鈥檚 material. The cast 鈥� a combination of law students, law professionals, law professors, and local acting talent 鈥� was led by Halifax comedian, actor and magician Bill Wood in the role of Gollum. His Gollum was suing Bilbo Baggins for possession of the 鈥渙ne ring鈥� of power, a magic artifact that's central to the plot of The Hobbit and Tolkien's subsequent Lord of the Rings novels.
Wood鈥檚 Gollum seemed moderately happy on the stand when answering questions about his life prior to meeting Bilbo, but turned agitated when describing their encounter and Bilbo鈥檚 game of riddles. 鈥淏ut they weren鈥檛 games, they were lies!!!鈥� screamed Gollum.
Law student Adam Norton portrayed Saruman the White, who served as part of the legal team for the defence alongside lawyer Laurie Jones. He showed 鈥減hoto evidence鈥� 鈥斅燾lips from Peter Jackson鈥檚 Lord of the Rings films 鈥斅爋f how Gollum acquired the ring: 鈥淭his is clearly you strangling that man to death!鈥� (The plaintiff鈥檚 lawyers argued the two couldn鈥檛 possibly be the same, given their difference in appearance.)
In addition to testimony from Gollum and Bilbo, the case featured a number of 鈥渃elebrity鈥� witnesses, including Schulich School of Law faculty members Stephen Coughlan and Diana Ginn as Gandalf the Grey and Smaug the Dragon, respectively. Ginn鈥檚 Smaug entered the courtroom in loud, booming outrage. Before taking the stand, she verbally attacked the defence, approaching Bilbo (played by fellow faculty member Jonathan Shapiro), shouting, 鈥淚 may simply CRUSH you beneath the weight of your civil procedure case book! Perhaps I will just bludgeon you to death using your stupid teaching award!鈥�
After cases were closed, and following remarks from Justice Campbell, it was up to the jury 鈥斅爏tudents from Halifax Humanities 101 鈥� to render its verdict. In the end, Bilbo was allowed to keep the ring. 鈥淛ustice was served and the ring is much happier with me,鈥� he said.
Community impact
Wood, who has taken part in all six Weldon Literary Moots, stepped out of character after the verdict to discuss the challenge of bringing Tolkien鈥檚 work to life in a courtroom scenario.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a great book,鈥� says Wood. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always great when you look at a situation and the bad guy isn鈥檛 necessarily the bad guy. We do very little prep beforehand. We just kind of jump in, and it鈥檚 very nice to see the joy the students take in it.鈥�
Lawyer Andrew Taillon, who formed part of the plaintiff鈥檚 legal team along with law student Kate Costin, says that taking part in this event for the first time was a great experience. 鈥淚 really enjoyed myself. The calibre of everyone involved was really impressive. The theme was really good; it鈥檚 a popular work, so people were able to engage with it easily.鈥�
Prof. Shapiro credited Norton and Prof. Ginn with most of the funniest gags of the evening. 鈥淸The students] do all the hard work and all we have to do is execute it. It鈥檚 really nice to see them donate their time. Law students are incredibly busy so it鈥檚 great to see how much they put in to make it work.鈥�
And work it does 鈥斅爊ot just for the participants, but for the community members supported by .