Judge John Dixon's dead body was found on the floor of his home office with a gunshot wound to the head, his favorite shotgun by his side. His wife, the plaintiff, demands that Providential Life Insurance Company pay on the $1 million life insurance policy taken out by Judge Dixon shortly before his death, but Providential refuses, citing the suicide provision of the policy. The medical examiner, Dixon's personal physician, determined the death was accidental, but Providential claims the medical examiner's conclusion was tainted by his friendship with the judge and a hasty investigation, and that Dixon's death was, in fact, a suicide. But what would cause a seemingly happy, well-respected judge to kill himself? Was Judge Dixon the churchgoing social conservative that his public persona suggested? Did his shotgun accidentally discharge while he, an experienced hunter and gun owner, was cleaning it in a darkened room - or was he troubled by a secret that was about to be exposed and made suicide seem like his only way out?

The student's skills will be tested with this well-balanced file bringing in equal number of verdicts for both the plaintiff and the defense. There are four witnesses for the plaintiff and four for the defendant, including experts on both sides. Dixon v. Providential Life Insurance Company has a courtroom technology focus and includes electronic evidence in the form of photographs, diagrams, documents, emails, text messages, and a Facebook post on an interactive "microsite." It includes a CD with a PowerPoint show of all exhibits, treatment of many of the exhibits, jury instructions, verdict form, and special impeachment slides that include video clips and scrolling transcripts. The Sixth Edition is based on the original case file by James H. Seckinger, as updated and upgraded by Edward R. Stein and Frank D. Rothschild.