Club Corner

Club Corner: Mock Trial

by Alex Cerullo

Have you ever had an interest in pursuing a career in law? Or do you want to learn more about how courts work and function during cases? If so, the Mock Trial club here at PHS may be the perfect fit for you. 

Mock Trial is a club for those who are interested in law, to gain knowledge on the topic by competing as a team in debate competitions against other schools. There are both a prosecution and defense team, each with their own individual roles per person, and each team has at least 6 members.

"We get the case material from the Massachusetts Bar Association in November then prepare for the first competition in January,” said sophomore Dacia Glennon. 

The cases given to the team can vary, and can either be civil or criminal cases. There are 3 competitions for each bracket, all of which need to be won in order to advance to the next bracket. The competitions are split up into three brackets, regional, statewide, and finaly nationwide. 

Mock Trial is run by club advisor Mr. Silva, students, and attorney coach Robert Shuman, a retired criminal attorney who helps teach the students about law and prepares them for their cases. Recently, the club went on a field trip to the state competition between 2 schools at the Boston Public Library, where the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School won the competition. This school then went on to compete in a nationwide debate in Delaware. 

Next year, while not set in stone, “We are planning on doing some sort of fundraiser to help with the club,” said sophomore Grace Baker.

 This is backed up by Mr. Silva, who said “They were looking into doing a fundraiser to help with paying for transportation, to and from the competitions”. 

While our school's team didn't advance to the state competition this year, the team is in strong spirits and is eager to win next year.