Our very own legal eagles, the John Carroll Mock Trial Team, braved the chill last night to beat Harford Tech by the thinnest of margins. Team advisor Mr. Sean Connolly reports the particulars:
In a close contest, our Patriots edged Harford Tech by 2 points to win last night's mock trial. The team represented the defendant once again, and obtained a verdict of not guilty of second degree depraved heart murder. The team will move on to take on the Baltimore County Champion at the Circuit Court in Towson, on Thursday, March 12, 2015. The start time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
The team was solid and well prepared. The Judge and attorney scorers commented on how well prepared both teams were and it was impressive that they spent a lot of time on the case with everything else our students do on a daily basis.
Our witnesses: Grace Mottley, Alex Kropkowski, and John Holden, once again gave very good performances portraying our Use of Force Expert, an eyewitness, and our Crime Scene and Forensic Expert, respectively. They all stuck to their testimony and helped show the Prosecution did not prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Grace scored a perfect score as a witness.
Our Lawyers: Glenn Dixon, Olivia Stepanian, and Edward Benner, did a great job of advocating for their client. All three lawyers were able to ask the right questions on direct examination to get our side of the story into evidence. Glenn and Edward were able to successfully get documents into evidence as well (which was complimented on by one of the attorney scorers.) Edward got his evidence in on cross examination which is not as easy because it is not your own witness. All three lawyers did a nice job on cross examination as well. Glenn was able to discredit the prosecution’s eyewitness; Olivia was able to completely discredit the crime scene technician, and Edward was able to discredit the prosecution’s use of force expert. Olivia was so good on cross that I told her that I would not want to be crossed examined by her.
Danielle Connolly and Caleb Olsen (who gave another inspiring pep talk before the trial) were also in attendance to root their teammates on.
The attorney scorers also mentioned at how impressed both teams performed and how as high school students they did just as well as law school students performing a mock trial.
I could not agree more with what the judges and attorney scorers have been saying throughout the season: our kids are truly amazing to be able present their case in a court of law so competently as high school students. I continue to be so proud of them!
Thanks to everyone who came out to watch the trial and root for the team: Mr. O’Hara, Mr. Low, Mr. Miller, Mr. Schick, and Mrs. Welsh. The kids really appreciated your presence. Thanks also to Mr. Schick for taking team photos in the courtroom.
Thanks also to everyone who has spoken to the kids in the past to encourage them, and those of you have said a kind word in person, or in an e-mail to me. It is all appreciated!