How many people can say that they have been involved in a court case as a high school student, and had the opportunity to work with lawyers to build a case? Under the advisory of Mr. Michael Auth and Mrs. Melissa Winter, NH students are able to go around saying they did this. Better yet, they have even won a case in the past month.

Junior, Matthew Erisman explained the definition of a Mock Trial as “an organization where we actually perform a trial. We’re given a case in the beginning of the year and then we perform multiple trials.”

Senior, Hannah Herron, explains that a packet is given filled with informations with affidavits, evidence, and statements of what happened in the case. It also includes a general overview of the case, which the members of the team are required to memorize.

Erisman also added that it gives students experience with the legal process. “You get to talk to actual lawyers that come in and help us during our practices. They give you a perspective you won’t usually get in school”, he commented.

The teams are graded on the quality of their opening, closing statement, and how well they cross examine. “We can get feedback that will help further in college and a career in law. So, you have an advantage over other people who don’t do Mock Trials,” Herron shares.

Since the trials usually take place on Wednesdays, the team meets on Monday and Tuesday every week. When together, they work on their line of questioning, witnesses practice lines, and they work together to build up the case.

Erisman shared that he thinks “the Mock Trial organization is an interesting thing that isn’t available everywhere. It’s certainly an interesting opportunity and for anyone that’s interested in legal processing I would certainly recommend it.”

The senior follows up by also recommending the academic team if you “want to know what it’s like to be in a courtroom setting because you have actual lawyers and witnesses with you and an actual judge.”

In the beginning of the month, the Mock Trial team travelled to Towson once as the prosecutor and another as a defense. The case was regarding lead and water. “In this case, the superintendent knew there was lead in the water, they turned on the water fountains, and a kid was diagnosed with lead poisoning” the senior explained. The team had to prove that the lead poisoning came from the school and was reported to be “so much fun.”