The Verdict is In: The Friends Mock Trial Team is Victorious!
Weekly Update
The Mock Trial Team poses behind the bench in the New Castle County Courthouse after competing in the final round on February 27, 2016.
From February 27-28, 2016, the Wilmington Friends School Mock Trial Team made history by becoming the first team from Wilmington Friends School to ever win the Delaware Mock Trial Competition. Mock Trial introduces a case to schools across Delaware, and members have a certain amount of time to conduct research and formulate an argument for both sides: defense and prosecution. On the two trial days, the team participates in a minimum of four trials; one more if they make the final round. Different members play either an attorney or witness role. Witnesses assume a character; this year’s witness characters ranged from the defendant, to a DNA analysis expert, a zookeeper, and a police officer. With thirty teams participating in the state, there is only a 3.33% chance that a team will win. Between all of the various parts of the case that make up the trial, participants have little to no clue about their team’s position in the competition. They could be in first or last place, but they won’t know until the very end. When the team found out that they had made the final round, they were ecstatic. After the final round versus Sussex Central was over, they waited to hear the announcement about who won, and they weren’t disappointed.
Preparing for the trial is a lot of work. Freshman Danny Nakamura said, “The Mock Trial team receives a case at the beginning of the season, November, and we spent the time leading up to last weekend preparing for it. It was fairly similar to a real trial with opening statements, closing statements, direct examinations, and cross examinations.” Between practice twice a week, work put in at home, and memorization, Mock Trial takes up a lot of time, but all this shows just how much dedication the members have to the team. Co-Captain Joslyn Gardner ’16 argued that the hard work paid off, “It’s amazing to watch everyone’s progress as the season goes on. We had a hard-working team, and everyone contributed to the win!”
The Friends Mock Trial team is helped along during this process by Betsy Cepparulo, their faculty advisor, as well as two attorney volunteers, Jody Barillare and Ericka Johnson. These attorneys coach the team by helping them understand the legal theory of the case, as well as provide advice on how to write direct and cross examinations and understand the rules of evidence. Co-Captain Jodi Lessner ’16 said, “Our coaches are an essential part of our team. Without their time, dedication, and advice we would never have been able to win.”
All of the team’s hard work clearly paid off on the day of the competition. Gardner commented, “The best part of Mock Trial is performing on competition day. We get to see all of our hard work unfold. The hardest part is trying to remember everything I had to memorize. I had to memorize a 5 minute opening and over 100 questions, which is a lot! It felt so great to win the competition. I have been on the team for 4 years, and it’s great to go out on a win.”
Winning the Mock Trial Competition is an amazing accomplishment. Betsy Cepparulo, Global Peace Justice and Social Change teacher as well as the Mock Trial faculty advisor stated, “They [the team] are some of the most articulate, distinguished, passionate people I have ever seen, including all of the professional lawyers and law students I know.” In addition to winning the entire competition, students on the team won individual awards for their success. Don’t forget about Jodi Lessner ’16 who won a total of six best lawyer gavels, five in the five rounds of competition plus the overall award; an amazing accomplishment. Cepparulo commented, “While I’m extremely proud of her [Lessner], I’m not surprised. She can take the words of her opponent and turn them right around against them.” Additionally, Katy Shannon ’17 won two awards for best witness gavels, one for each round that the prosecution competed in. Jason Saville ’18 achieved one best witness gavel in the defense’s first round.
The team will soon represent Delaware at the national competition held in Idaho. In Idaho, each team is only allowed to bring eight members maximum. Observers may attend only if they are team members’ family or friends, or if they are affiliated with the team. The trial is taken very seriously, with legal professionals, such as judges and lawyers, judging each round.
Whether or not they win or lose, Friends School is truly proud of their dedication, skill, and hard work. The Delaware trial was based on a murder case, but the team won’t know about the national trial case until they receive it on April 1st. Once they receive the case they will have to prepare quickly before the national competition in May. Good luck Quakers!
