Mock Trial at DJHS

By Simran Grissom

November 2021

The purpose of Mock Trial anywhere is law-based education, public speaking, and team collaboration.

“The one thing that students have to gain overall in Mock Trial is just growing a lot. A lot of times, people come into Mock Trial not really having confidence with public speaking or really knowing anything about law. But once you go in, we have all the coaches that help you with public speaking and you gain confidence on how to control the courtroom.” States Rachel Zhang, a DJHS senior in Mock Trial.

Mock Trial has been a club at DJHS for several years, but when Zhang joined in her freshman year, the team hadn’t gone further than Districts in 3-5 years.

Photo taken by Rachel Zhang

“It was really my sophomore year when we had a team go to Regionals and States for the first time in a few years. This year things have been picking up and we’ve been, basically, reaching for higher goals because we’ve gotten better coaching from OSU.” Zhang says.

After this year's tryouts, 3 teams will go to the 39th annual Ohio Mock Trial competitions in the spring. Zhang briefly mentioned the 3 competition phases: Districts, Regionals, and States. At each competition, DJHS teams will go against teams from other schools and if both sides, the defense and prosecution, of a DJHS team win, the team will continue on to the next level.

The Mock Trial teams are made up of attorneys, witnesses, and alternates. Club officers look for clarity and professionalism in attorneys. They are responsible for the opening and closing statements of the case. The opening statement introduces the case in favor of one side. The closing statement summarizes what occurred during the trial. Attorneys also direct and cross examine witnesses. Good witnesses are respectful and entertaining (when appropriate) without veering away from the focus of the case. Alternates are the backups if attorneys or witnesses cannot attend.

“Mock Trial cases really range from a bunch of topics. Usually, they’re based on recent events. So, for example, where there was talk about gun safety and gun regulation there was a case on a boy who wanted to protest for the 2nd Amendment and then he got suspended which jeopardized his college acceptance.” Zhang says on previous years' cases.

This year, the case examines the Takings clause of the 5th Amendment (“Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”) in relation to a restaurant owner’s business that was impacted by new regulations during the pandemic. All high school Mock Trial teams in Ohio are given the same case.

DJHS’ Mock Trial team is working hard in preparation for this year's competitions and have high hopes as members find their footing in this new case. Zhang says, “We’re constantly solving problems within the case, but also within our teams.”

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