News Archive
Professor Boyne Speaks on the Law School's Counter-Terrorism Simulation to Germans
10/13/2010
On Wednesday, October 27th, Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis associate professor Shawn Boyne delivered a presentation entitled "Law in Action: Training Law Students using a Counter-Terrorism Simulation" at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg, Germany. The presentation highlighted the Counterterrorism Simulation held at the law school last fall in which students from the law school and SPEA responded in role to a series of simulated terrorist attacks. Professor Boyne discussed the importance of using cutting edge teaching methods to teach decision-making skills. She shared the lessons learned from the simulation and how she hopes to incorporate that new knowledge into future simulation exercises. Professor Boyne is in residence at the Max Planck Institute this Fall as she completes work on a book project entitled, The Many Faces of Prosecutorial Decision-Making: The German Way of Justice.
In October 2009 students in Professor Boyne’s Seminar in Comparative National Security Law, along with students from the IU School of Public and Environmental Affiars (SPEA), participated in a groundbreaking counter-terrirism simulation that placed them in the vortex of terrorist attacks and in the position of having to develop coordinated and cohesive responses. Approximately 50 studetns played various roles from the President, to governmental staffers, to reporters covering the story as it unfolded. With help from realistic news broadcasts, as well as “top secret” intelligence injects supplied by Professor Boyne and real-life national security experts, the students were forced to make split-second decisions regarding events as they happened. The action was recorded in sevent distinct areas of the law school and each room’s activities were broadcast via a simulation “dashboard” that was live on the law school’s website.
WFYI, the Indianapolis affiliate of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), filmed and aired a documentary about the simulation exercise entitled "Tough Decisions: Defending the Homeland." Copies of the program may be obtained from WFYI (contact ctaylor@wfyi.org).
