Mock Trial had their first meeting this Wednesday to let new club members get to know each other and talk about the importance of knowing your rights.
“Mock Trial is important for multiple reasons,” junior club president Savannah Harvey said. “If you want to be in law, it helps you understand everything that will happen in a courtroom setting. Even if you don’t want to work in law, it helps you become a more informed citizen. It helps students also learn skills like reading comprehension, public speaking, and research skills.”
The club is relatively new, becoming an official club three years ago and has slowly been gaining more members. Aspects of Mock Trial have an appeal with students from other clubs, such as the Debate and Drama Club.
“At the first meeting, I saw that a lot of kids were talking about joining this club mainly because of Debate,” junior Outreach Manager Lauren Day said. “A lot of kids who debate do Mock Trial. And I know that a couple of kids love the acting aspect of it. Mock Trial has students to debate as an attorney and act as a witness.”
Despite a majority of Mock Trial members being returning upper-classmen, newer members have already shown just as much interest and dedication for the club as their more experienced colleagues.
“I wanted to join Mock Trial because I want to be a lawyer and protect others,” freshman Annabele Anderson said.
Whether it’s criminal, civil, or class action lawsuits, Mock Trial goes over a variety of cases so club members are knowledgeable in all parts of the justice system and are capable of competing against other schools.
“Last year, we had an arson case where we had to decide whether this cybertruck that blew up was just an electrical or if this guy intentionally did it because a girl ran over his dog,” Harvey said. “There was another case, an art forgery case, and it was about an art curator being accused of forging a painting and selling it for a million dollars… Mock Trial offers a very diverse experience.”
The biggest event for Mock Trial members is the tournament held this spring, where they will do a case in a real courthouse in front of real lawyers.
“If we do good enough at the tournament, we’ll go to nationals,” senior Secretary Cameryn Barnes said. “And after that, hopefully we will be able to compete at State.”
And even though learning about the justice system might seem boring, Mock Trial will always prioritize that students have fun and feel comfortable when competing.
“If competing really scares someone, we encourage them to come talk with us and we’ll figure it out,” said Barnes. “We’ll find how we can help and where you work best on the team.”
