In Montgomery County high schools, students immerse their schedules with unique and interesting extracurricular activities, from sports to STEM, advocacy to art. While not as well-known as Model UN, debate, or DECA, many students participate in mock trials, a rewarding activity that stands out from other public speaking extracurriculars.
A mock trial is a type of competition in which teams act out a criminal or civil court case, taking on either the role of witness or attorney. In Maryland, high school competitions are sponsored by the organization Maryland Youth and the Law (MYLAW) in cooperation with the Maryland State Bar Association, who come up with the annual case, write the casebook encompassing evidence and rules, and organize the tournament. All teams must compete with the same fictitious case, so they must include unique perspectives, arguments, and portrayals to stand out. Each school team has both a defense and a prosecution or plaintiff team, which competes against another school’s defense or plaintiff/prosecution to win in a circuit match and hopefully advance to the state championship.
This year, the case centers around a college student who fell from a ladder due to their neighbor having stolen safety equipment from it. “It is not the most exciting one we’ve had, but I think it was interesting because there are a lot of layers, and I learned a lot,” Wootton High School senior and mock trial captain Chinatu Achor said.
Mock trial is singular as it follows real-life laws and court procedures. Witnesses are sworn in, attorneys use Maryland objections, and the competitions take place in courtrooms. The state championship is held in the Supreme Court of Maryland.
“I think we actually do a really good job of staying true to [real life, though] not completely to my knowledge… We’re a little more strict on some things like cross and re-cross [examinations] and stuff like that, but it’s very, very similar,” Achor said. “You have people like attorneys and judges actually judging you so they can tell you, you know, this would actually happen in a courtroom or this wouldn’t.”
In addition to inspiring students looking to pursue a career in law, mock trial is valuable in learning about the legal process. “I would be open to pursuing law in the future because of mock trial. I actually didn’t have much of an interest before and I’m sure that if I do, I’ll have certainly a lot of prior knowledge,” Bethesda Chevy-Chase High School freshman Jonah Waranch said.
Regardless of whether competitors do want to go into the legal field in the future, mock trial teaches invaluable skills, including critical thinking, public speaking, and thinking on one’s feet. Both witnesses and attorneys must act and present in an engaging manner and come up with convincing, out-of-the-box arguments, whether they are answering questions or asking them. They must anticipate the other side’s challenges and work ahead of time to seal any holes in their arguments. Also, it is necessary for both sides to speak eloquently so that an opposing attorney will object to neither their questions nor their responses.
Achor explained, “I definitely think it’s helped my public speaking, but mainly it’s helped me develop critical thinking skills, you know, when it comes to putting an argument together… it’s helped me do that with writing the closing and opening statements.”
Waranch commented, “[mock trial] helped me think better on my feet in school and life in general. It has also helped me with my language skills, and one of the key parts of Mock Trial is speaking.”
“You have to be driven. You have to be prepared. And you have to be present. And the students showed up for all of that,” Wootton librarian and mock trial sponsor Tammie Burk said. “I think it’s a good extracurricular activity that would really empower students moving forward in public speaking, presence, and just how to carry themselves in a business world.”
Unlike other public-speaking clubs, a mock trial is a group effort that fosters civic participation. A mock trial team is similar to a sports team in that all of a school’s members work together to achieve victory instead of competing against each other, as is the case in other activities like DECA. Additionally, it allows students to learn more about how Maryland law functions, enabling them to become more informed citizens and be prepared if they are ever in a courtroom in real life.
“My favorite part of mock trial has to be objecting to other attorneys’ questions but also the sense of community. I didn’t really know any of the mock trial people until we did this together,” Achor said. The team she leads has a bonding tradition of eating dinner together at Giuseppe’s Pizza Plus after trials, contributing to such a community. Waranch explained, “[Compared to other activities] it’s less people so the group is more intimate and social.”
Burk said, “I was impressed at the amount of information [the students] had to read and retain. I was impressed with their commitment—they met every week for an hour and a half or more. And I was also impressed with the camaraderie and how they collaborated with one another, they got along, they listened, and they genuinely were invested in what they were doing.”
For all these reasons, mock trial is a meaningful activity for high school students. It is an excellent way to stand out on college applications and a welcoming club that appeals to a wide variety of interests. “You get a blend of people who like acting…, people who like debate, it’s really, really great. And you also get to meet judges and meet new people,” Achor said. “I would really encourage anybody who even likes acting or wants to be an attorney or anything like that, just come to mock trial.”
Article Written by Daniela Naaman of Thomas S. Wootton High School
Photo Courtesy of Pix4free