James Rada, Jr.
How might the Ferguson, Missouri, case have played out with different witnesses, questions, and attorneys? The members of the Catoctin High School (CHS) Mock Trial Team are seeing that play out this year with the case patterned after the Ferguson case.
The team will compete against other county highs schools four times this year and then in the playoffs. Sometimes, Catoctin will be the prosecutors, and other times, they will serve as the defense team.
The Maryland Mock Trial Competition is sponsored by the Maryland Bar Association, the Maryland Judicial Conference, and the Citizens Law-Related Education Program for the Schools of Maryland. They create the case background and witness stories and other evidence for the case each year. For 2015, the groups chose to mirror the national headlines.
Catoctin High’s Mock Trial Team has twelve members who compete for a position on the team and who are then assigned a role that they play throughout the season. There are three prosecuting attorneys, three defense attorneys, three prosecution witnesses, and three defense witnesses. Each school works with the same background information, and so the advantage comes from how that information is presented.
“I like to say that we have the best and brightest in the school, competing against the best and brightest in other schools,” said team coach Stephen Cree.
The sponsors say that the competition promotes a better understanding of the legal system and law, as well as promoting skills like public speaking and logical thinking.
Although no one on the current Catoctin High School team is looking to become a lawyer, a few of them have considered it.
“It has helped me decide what I want to do,” said senior Savannah Soter.
Mock Trial combines knowledge and quick thinking, as well as theatrics and presentation.
“It’s definitely not for a shy, quiet kid,” Cree said. “They have to be able to think on their feet, because once the trial starts, I can’t help them.”
Each trial is held at the Frederick County Courthouse and is judged and scored by Frederick County attorneys who have volunteered to help with the competitions. The top teams in each county will compete in Annapolis for the state title. Over the past six years, the closest Catoctin High has come so far is to place second in the county, though the team is consistently in the county playoffs.
This year’s Catoctin High School’s Mock Trial Team members are: seniors—Blake Godlove, Savannah Soter, Brie Summers; juniors—Kyle Crampton, Landry Garrett, Anna Rogers, Dayna Valek, Megan Wright; sophomores—Lily Bean, Steven Clarke, Josephine Isaacson; freshmen—Zack Carter.
