Mock trial season comes to a close

Senior Charles Li holds a script in his hand as he nods his head along to the lines. Names such as “Officer Robert Dougherty” and “Dr. Ricki Sanchez” float around the room as mock trial participants throw themselves into their characters. 

This was a typical scene rehearsed by the mock trial team throughout the season. After the team received the details of the trial early in 2013, they have have been working toward the county competition, which took place in mid-February. The trial revolved around a character who had been charged with second-degree murder and the possession and selling of Adderall.

Throughout the season, the mock trial team, consisting of 36 members, spent meetings feverishly practicing for the county competition and the competition season. The team faced several setbacks as they went through their trials without a real attorney coach.

According to junior Michelle Luo, this year the team lost key seniors Casey Takahashi and Jennie Werner, who were committed to other activities, and the new attorney coach, Ed Quevedo, was unable to attend meetings for the majority of the year. 

“Our attorney coach has been missing,” Luo said. “We’ve basically just been working by ourselves.”

Additionally, the team had less time to prepare for the case because of its late start to the season.

“We started off [preparing] later, and we didn’t run through as much,” Luo said.  “There have been a lot of new people.”

In addition, Li said that a team member playing the part of a trial character named Ricky Sanchez dropped out just before the competition, so freshman Jessy Liu had to step in as a replacement.

However, there have been some bright spots in the season, including the influx of new members last fall, as well as the addition of a JV team. Teachers Jim Chin and Michael Kim were also crucial to the team’s participation.

The team competed against Gunderson High on Feb. 10 and Los Altos on Feb. 11, losing both competitions by seven and three points, respectively, although the team won the third competition against Leland on Feb. 12.

“I’m pretty sure a lot of our other attorneys and coaches agree that [even though] we lost by three points, the other team was a lot weaker,” Luo said. “They were [using] notes, they were stuttering, and they barely made any objections.”

Li attributes the success during the third competition to the team’s diligent practice and drilling as the competition neared.

“We really kicked it up [in past] weeks,” Li said. “I’m a firm believer in getting them to drill, getting them to do their lines over and over, and getting them to object to each other and think on their feet.”

Luo added that Li has done a lot of work to help the team out by working with witnesses and “making the characters sound more believable.”

The team closed the season, however, with a loss to Monta Vista by one point on Feb. 13.

“We did the best with what we had. [Next year], we hope to find a reliable attorney coach and prepare the underclassmen for upcoming years, since a lot of them are really strong,” Luo said. “Because of all the mishaps, they weren’t able to show their true potential.”