On March 2, Lambert Mock Trial headed to districts at Cobb County Courthouse after placing second at regionals. This is the first time in eight years that Lambert Mock Trial has been able to go to districts, which was a result of their hard work and dedication.
Although Lambert did not place at districts, the team made many other strides that made this season memorable. For starters, the team was divided into Varsity and Junior Varsity, which allowed for a greater number of new members.
Mock Trial competitions are essentially simulations where high-school students can conduct their own trials. Led by 3 coaches, Mr. Fuller, Mr. Carter and Mr. Moses, the team with Captain Chitvan Singh was able to prepare for the competitions with each member playing a specific role.
“A team of students plays the roles of defense attorneys and witnesses or the prosecution. They compete against another school’s opposing roles using the case information provided by the State Bar’s Mock Trial Commission.” Advisor Daryl Moses explained.
Senior Deepthi Palvai is a Lead Attorney who conducts cross-examinations and direct examinations and presents the prosecution’s closing argument. The closing argument involves summarizing all that went on at the trial and calling for the Attorney to pay close attention to the case.
“Basically for direct examinations, you have a witness that you are defending or talking about and you just ask the witness questions to get them to give the answer,” Palvai stated.
This year’s case involved a businessman named Kendall Lealand who was allegedly stealing products and selling them outside of their official distributors.
“One of his co-workers got angry that he was doing this and found out that he had a lot of money that he was hiding,” Palvai explained. “The coworker then robbed him and was charged with burglary, robbery, and theft.”
During a competition trial, there is a variation of questioning, opening and closing statements and multiple witnesses called to the stand. Because there is no certain point system, the students are judged in front of a jury through a ballot system. The quality of a person’s speech and questioning are all factors that come into play when judged.
Mock Trial, with its very specialized nature, attracts many applicants during auditions. Because there were limited spots for each year, Mock Trial decided to create a junior varsity team, which allowed for greater involvement in the club and helped make it more known at Lambert. Although it is not as big as the large CTAE clubs at Lambert, the highly competitive nature of Mock Trial along with its bigger team allows for the club to grow.
“Our team is actually larger than most schools in the state. It takes memorization, attention to detail, and good speaking/acting skills,” Moses stated.
Even though some specific qualities are needed to be a successful member of this team, many traits can be developed. Specifically for this year, the amount of research and preparation that took place allowed for the team to qualify for regionals. Additionally, team members, especially witnesses, became completely immersed in the role. Instead of merely playing a role and learning a script, they quite literally became the person they were playing.
“I’ve gotten better at coming up with questions and arguments on the spot,” Palvai explained. Public speaking and working as a team are other skills that can be learned from being a part of Mock Trial, which is a great experience for those wishing to go into the law field or try a new club.
