”
I object!
”
The defense attorney stands and pounds his fist on the table,
making it known he didn’t like the prosecution attorney’s
question.
It’s a normal courtroom setting
– a robed judge, defense and prosecution witnesses and suited
lawyers coming together in search of justice – but the participants
are different. The lawyers wearing the suits are high school
students dressing and acting their big parts in a mock trial.
“I object!”
The defense attorney stands and pounds his fist on the table, making it known he didn’t like the prosecution attorney’s question.
It’s a normal courtroom setting – a robed judge, defense and prosecution witnesses and suited lawyers coming together in search of justice – but the participants are different. The lawyers wearing the suits are high school students dressing and acting their big parts in a mock trial.
Anzar High School students will go through the motions of a court case at the California Mock Trial Competition in Riverside today and Saturday.
The case, developed from various actual cases, is People v. Martin. The cases argued by students involve issues and people they can connect with, said Marilyn Breiling, mock trial advisor and coach.
This case centers around a murder involving students who had been caught trying to cheat by a fellow student who is determined to turn them in in accordance with the school’s honor code. The student threatening to turn in the cheating students is found dead from drowning, and lawyers argue whether the death was accidental.
“The cases always involve, unfortunately, a murder or a death based on a fictitious representation of a case that actually happened,” Breiling said. “They try to make it interesting for the teenagers. The cases involve constitutional issues.”
Participating in mock trial can mean a lot of extra time and a lot of memorization, but students agree they walk away with valuable skills and experiences.
“We’ve spent a lot of hours after school,” said Danielle Netzel, a sophomore at Anzar. “I’ve learned how to memorize things a lot easier and I’ve learned how to ask people questions to get what you want out of them. … Now I know about laws that I never knew existed.”
Freshman Daniel Goodman would like to be a lawyer someday and thinks mock trial helps him acquire courtroom skills. He’s also learned skills he can apply in the classroom and in his life.
“I’ve learned some discipline. I don’t speak out of turn as much. I have less attitude,” said Goodman, who portrays a park ranger in the trial.
There are 36 counties participating in this year’s state competition. Anzar will take one of the sides and argue it against two other schools of similar size Friday and two others Saturday. The trials are judged by judges and lawyers, Breiling said, who look for professionalism and how well students know the case and present it and make their points, she said.
Seventeen students are on the team. There are eight witnesses, three defense attorneys, three prosecuting attorneys, two pre-trial attorneys, a bailiff, a clerk and a courtroom artist.
Although participating in mock trial is a good experience for prospective lawyers, other students learn a lot as well. Anzar senior Kevin Gong has no desire to be a lawyer, but enjoyed learning about the justice system.
“There are a lot of applications for me with this. I enjoy arguing,” Gong said. “I have a bigger understanding of the law system. … I’ve learned how to look at the opponent’s point of view and pick out those problems and, with public speaking, I know what I’m talking about and how to be clear with it. I’ve learned to be efficient with words.”
To make mock trials more real, lawyers help coach a team. San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield has coached Anzar’s mock trial team since it started seven years ago. Each year, Sarsfield introduces students to public speaking skills, helps them analyze cases and put together examinations.
In October, students are given the case name and facts from the organizers of the state competition. All the students get are the facts; they have to prepare witnesses and come up with their own lines of questioning, Sarsfield said.
“Some of these students are better than some of the lawyers I’ve seen,” he said with a chuckle.
Although mock trials are learning experiences for students, Sarsfield said coaches can also come away with something valuable.
“My job can be very negative. I see a lot of unpleasant facts and unpleasant people,” Sarsfield said. “It’s nice to get away from that.”
The best mock trial team from each county goes to the state competition, Breiling said. In the past, San Andreas Continuation High School and San Benito High School competed against Anzar, but San Andreas lost its coach and SBHS stopped having a team, she said.
Since Anzar has no competition at the county level, the team participated in two “scrimmages” against Harbor High School in Santa Cruz and Pacific Grove High School.
Anzar hopes to do better than last year as the team has gotten progressively better. In the past three years, they’ve moved from last place to next to last to third from last, Breiling said.
“We have a young team, but it’s a team that’s very motivated,” she said. “They’re wanting to prove that they’re just as good as the big schools.”
In addition to practicing, the mock trial team has had to fund raise to pay for their trip to Riverside. The parents booster club paid for the group’s registration at the state competition, but the team raised money and will foot the rest of the bill for gas, food and hotel for the four days, Breiling said.
