A REAL Experience on Mock Trial

On Tuesday, January 14th, the CPHS Mock Trial Team defeated New Milford in our final competition of the season. Our opponents, who had two previous wins, would have advanced if not for our defeat. Our most recent win is our second in the three years that Mock Trial has been in operation.

Senior, Starr Vijolan, and I were the defense attorneys in this case. This pairing has proven to be successful once again, as we helped bring the team to victory for the very first win in CPHS Mock Trial history just last year.

Starr and I came back stronger than ever this season, following a tough loss against the Torah Academy of Bergen County earlier this month. The trial began with my opening statement, a way for myself as the attorney to sympathize with the jury and introduce the facts of the case. As the trial went on, both Starr and I did exceptionally well in maintaining composure against difficult witnesses on the opposing side. Our questions were solid, along with many of our objections, earning us points throughout the trial. We were able to successfully make our case with the help of amazing witnesses; Julianna Baldwin, Joshua Pashalian, and Valentina Ortiz, all of whom were able to trap the opposing attorneys. Starr’s passionate closing statement signaled a definite defeat!

With this being my second year as a team lawyer, I can say with confidence that my understanding of the law, along with other skills including public speaking, have improved. Mock Trial is a great way to familiarize yourself with the law if it is one of your interests. Being that mock trials are much like real court cases, becoming involved in the club can be the perfect way for you to gain experience and find a passion you never knew you had!

Being that the Mock Trial Team prepares for months prior to the competitions that take place in January, it is important to note, that like most academic clubs, Mock Trial requires you to put in time and effort outside of school. If frequent meetings and weeks of preparation are not for you, Mock Trial may not be the best choice.

However, if Mock Trial is something that you can see yourself doing, becoming involved in the club comes with its share of benefits. From an academic standpoint, Mock Trial entails a lot of writing and memorization that can help you to improve your performance in your classes.

Mock Trial also teaches responsibility because all of the roles require hard work. As a lawyer, you are responsible for coming up with questions that will make your witnesses look good, along with questions that are meant to point out any inconsistencies that exist in the testimonies of the witnesses on the opposing side. If you are a witness, you are in charge of working with the lawyer to devise the best responses to each of their questions. You are also responsible for memorization (you won’t be able to have your script on the stand).

If you decide that being a lawyer or a witness is not for you, you can still be involved as a jury member. As a member of the jury, your job, with the help of other jurors, is to weigh the facts of the case and decide on a verdict of either guilty or not guilty. Not to mention, you can also gain volunteer hours from being a jury member or participating in one of our many fundraising events. You can plan to either attend or volunteer at our carwash this May.

Most importantly, being a member of Mock Trial means that you are a member of a community. We all work together at every meeting, opening ourselves up to constructive criticism and new ideas. Like being a part of any other team, Mock Trial is the perfect way to make new friends with similar interests and create connections that will last until long after high school is over.

If the CPHS Mock Trial Team sounds like something that you would like to be part of, we are always looking for new members. Any grade is welcome to join. Our coach Mr. Venezia, is always in search of additional members that will help bring the CPHS Mock Trial Team to victory!