A new case has been assigned to the students of Marian's Mock Trial teams. Together with Creighton Prep, team members play the roles of both the prosecution and defense.
A packet containing the problem and witness statements is given to each team. The goal is to prepare both sides of the case and be ready to go against teams from different schools. "Putting the information together is hard and can be boring, but it is worth it," said sophomore Bridget Ostronic.
Whether the prosecution or defense, the team must put forth a sufficient amount of evidence in court to win the case. Yet that is not the only deciding factor. The team's court room demeanor, respect for the judge and jury, and knowledge of basic rule and regulation of the law help the team earn added points in the competition. Knowing your objections, such as hearsay and relevancy, not only earns the team points,and shows the thought the team has put into the case. "Practices and preparing are time consuming but the effort pays off when you actually get into the court room," said sophomore Emily Booma.
There are six different parts to be played of each side of the case: three lawyers and three witnesses. Together the team must give an opening statement, give a direct examination of their witnesses, cross examine the other team's witnesses, and then give a closing argument.
"Mock Trial is not as easy as it sounds," said senior Michelle Mueller. "It takes up a lot of your time." Practices for Mock Trial are every Monday and Thursday after school and whenever a individual team schedules to have enough preparation for an upc oming trial. A Mock Trial team puts in an average of eight to 10 hours a week. An attorney is used to help the team learn court room etiquette and details of the laws in that particular case.
The case this year is the prosecution is charging a man w
The Entry Night was for initiation into the Club and the pledges were required to go through stations. One of the pledges was crossing a 8 inch board that was 24 feet long and fell, hitting his head on the board and dying of massive internal head injuries. The prosecution must prove beyond a responsible doubt that this man is guilty of the charges against him, where the defense must prove him innocent. "This years case was interesting with a lot of details, but it left a lot of unanswered questions ab out the case in the end," said junior Cathy Lang.
The normal Mock Trial round lasts about two hours. Each team is given one practice round and then, whether the team wins or loses that case, determines that teams he best teams are left. These elite teams go through Semi-Finals, Finals, State, and Nationals. All tounaments are judged by three practicing attorneys that have score sheets to tally the points awarded to each team. The team with the most points wins that round.
In the past years, a few Marian/Prep teams have gone as far as the last round of Finals, but this year will be different. "I predict that one or two of our teams will make it as far as State," said Mr. Powers, Creighton Prep teacher, Mock Trial team Moderator.
The Mock Trial team of Michelle Mueller, Cathy Lang, Brigid Dolan, Karen Zarp, and Shannon Betterman, along with two Creighton Prep seniors,made it all the way to the Final round, losing by only one point on a technicality.