Mock Trial is an extracurricular program in which students compete in rehearsed trials regarding the legal system. For the past thirteen years, Quartz Hill’s strong Mock Trial team has won competitions against other schools in the valley. This year, they are hoping to sustain this long victory streak for Quartz Hill.

   For the program, each school is required to have two teams: the prosecution and the defense. In the competitions, each school sends one team to compete against the other side from a different school. For example, if Quartz Hill’s defense is competing, the opposing school will send its prosecution.

   The competitions consist of four rounds, which are presided over by an actual judge at the Michael Antonovich Courthouse. The teams are scored by attorneys and are given points based on their arguments. Therefore, the winners of the competitions are not decided by the verdict, but by the total number of points each team has.

   One of the secrets to Quartz Hill’s success is not only the strength of their arguments, but also their presentation. According to one of the new coaches of the team, Ms. Wisdom, “Quartz Hill has the reputation for being well-prepared and ambitious.”

   In the past, a teacher at Quartz Hill, Mrs. DeGroff, had coached Quartz Hill’s stellar Mock Trial team and she led the students to success. This year, the new advisors, Mr. House and Ms. Wisdom envision the same success and are determined to win the competition again this year. Students are also coached by Mr. Moll, an attorney who volunteers his time to work with students at the practices and is an expert on the law.

   Mock Trial is notorious for having very long practices, which sometimes last more than four hours to prepare for the competitions. However, these practices are very necessary and lead to one of the reasons why Quartz Hill’s team is so strong.

   At the practices, the team usually does a full run through of the trial for the case at bar, which includes pretrial arguments, opening statements, questions for witnesses, and closings. One of the attorneys for the team, Christabel Odoi, explained, “For practices, we usually imitate the setting of the courtroom and run through the whole process as though it was a competition.”

   This year, the case is based on the murder trial of Jamie Hayes, who is accused of killing a security guard at her university campus. To prepare for this trial, students on the team have been practicing since November for the upcoming competition.

    Mock Trial is a good experience for students those interested in pursuing law. Chelsea Ogunmowo, a captain of the team, recommends Mock Trial “to anyone interested in studying law, or anyone interested in debate.” If you like being on a team, enjoy creative problem solving, or have a well-organized mind, Mock Trial is the team for you.