The Mock Trial team, serving as the prosecution, received its first victory and guilty verdict Nov. 2 at the first trial of the year. The team then won a second round as the defense Nov. 9.
Because the cases are set up to ensure the defense has a fair chance of making their case, guilty decisions are quite uncommon, Mock Trial member Ava Benavente ’20 said. While not all of the results have been released yet, Benavente, who plays a witness, said the guilty ruling excited the entire team.
“It was just amazing,” Benavente. “We were so thrilled and it was so exciting for us especially because we were on the prosecution side. I definitely think we were all a little shocked but super excited because we did a really good job.”
The team will work on the same trial for the entire year. This year’s mock case involves the suspected murder of a member of an extremist nationalist group at an immigration rally.
“It’s exciting to hear our arguments finally put out in a courtroom and it’s interesting to see what other schools came up with,” clerk and attorney alternate Lauren Lee ’20 said.
Roles were assigned to each member of the team ranging from witnesses to attorneys and bailiffs. Team members will continue to practice these roles for trials that will happen throughout the year.
The next hearing will take place Nov. 13, and depending on if the team wins again or not, they may advance to join the top eight.
“I think that as we progress through the competition our opponent will get better, but I have confidence in our team and hope that we do well,” Becca Frischling ’19 said.