Growing the Club
Last month Pine Creek's Mock Trial Team competed at the Regional Competition and were able to send two teams of six this year instead of just one.
"They've done such a good job of outreach within the school to grow their program!" said activity sponsor, Evelyn Platt. "They're on the right track - they’re getting people invested as a part of the team."
About the Experience
Club co-founder, Sophia Li, who is also involved in Pine Creek Speech and Debate, saw a need for Mock Trial in order to give students who are interested in pursuing a legal career the opportunity to get used to a courtroom setting. The team was given the topic and case for this year’s competition on October 31st and prepared through practice speaking drills and rules of evidence exercises.
"Mock Trial isn't about bringing in new statistics like it is with Speech and Debate," Li said. "We're given the stats. It's our job to present the evidence." On the day of the competition students performed their arguments in front of licensed attorneys at the El Paso County Court house, then received feedback on how to improve.
According to Li, this year's teams did well in their arguments and got advice on how to slow the pace of their presentation and speak with increased confidence. They were also reminded to focus more on the jury box when presenting their arguments, given that their job is to convince the jury, not the attorneys.
The team performed well at Regionals overall and looks forward to continuing to grow the program next year.