Activity Profile: Mock Trial

by Kyle McWilliams   

    One of the resurrected clubs at Platteville High School is mock trial. Mr. Jones has been serving as unofficial adviser since the group is largely self-coached. Last year was the second year that mock trial has been back in action.

    Mock trial is exactly what it sounds like: twelve students prepare both the prosecution and defense sides for high-intensity courtroom competition. They compete with students from other schools who play the opposing sides. The twelve consist of six attorneys and six witnesses, broken down evenly (three and three) to make up the prosecution and defense. Sounds complicated, right? Team captain Saafia Masoom (‘16) says it’s really not.

    Preparing for this type of competition is like learning lines for a performance, but at the same time you must be able to think on your feet. “We look for good actors and actresses to play witnesses,” says Masoom. Attorneys are slightly more involved with the legal terminology and courtroom procedure.

    So why join mock trial? “Everyone who joins mock trial ends up really enjoying it,” Masoom states. “It helps so much with confidence and working in high pressure situations. Plus, you get to use real courtrooms and have real judges (or attorneys sitting in for judges) preside on competition day.”

    The regional contest is held on the same day around the state; this year it was February 14th. The PHS team traveled to LaCrosse and competed in 3 rounds. They came out 5th place after going up against River Valley, the regional champions, and two other teams. The team didn’t know which side they would play until about 30 minutes before each round.

    This year’s case was The State of Wisconsin v. Jamie Covington. It had to do with Jamie Covington, a 3rd year law student, and whether or not Covington shot the roommate out of self-defense when the roommate was climbing through the window of their apartment or whether it was planned first degree intentional homicide. The same case, written by lawyers around the state, is supposed to be written in such a way that it can be argued from both sides.

    The attorneys who tried their hand at direct examining and cross examining were Austin Smith (‘18), Lucy Tian (‘18), Elyssa Vondra (‘16), Tom Cramer (‘16), Emma Li (‘17), Eramis Momchilovich (‘15), and Saafia Masoom (‘16). Witnesses who were put to the test on the stand were James Etukudo (‘18), Rana Pluemer (‘16), Lexi Acierno (‘16), Ivan Acierno (‘16), Colin Thiele (‘16), and Jordan Brunette (‘16). The timer was Faye Bailie (‘16).