Hours of practicing and refining a performance to be given in front a Marin County judge, team lunches rife with memes, inside jokes, and competitions revolving around In-N-Out's peppers, and countless memories made over the course of four months of hard work. These are some of the many things I love about my school's Mock Trial Program, coached by the esteemed Chris Sheron.
I joined the club during my freshman year, hearing that San Marin had an extracurricular program that would allow students to gain a better comprehension of the American justice system and the inner workings of law, but what the club ultimately became for me was something more. Over the course of the next four years, I've met strangers I otherwise would never have come to know, and made friendships that will last me a lifetime.
Just a little about the club itself, though. The Mock Trial Program, organized by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, is a nationwide competition that begins at the county level. Each team consists of 16 to 18 members, split among a prosecution and defense squad. Each squad consists of three trial attorneys, who question witnesses and make opening statements or closing arguments to the judge and jury, one pre-trial attorney who directly addresses the judge before the bulk of the trial takes place, and four witnesses apiece. Additionally, the clerk and bailiff belong to the prosecution and defense squads respectively.
During the competition itself, each school participates in a total of four trials over the course of two weeks. Of these four, the prosecution takes part in two, while the defense competes in the other two, and each is against a different school. For example, our prosecution team may go against Tamalpais High School's defense in the first trial, and our defense would compete against San Rafael High School's prosecution in their first trial.
My Role and Team Records:
2015-16: Defense pre-trial attorney: 2-2 Team Record, 1 MVP Award
2016-17: Prosecution trial attorney, closing statement: 1-3 Team Record, 1 MVP Award
2017-18: Prosecution expert witness: 2-2 Team Record, 1 Outstanding Performance Award and 1 MVP Award
I joined the club during my freshman year, hearing that San Marin had an extracurricular program that would allow students to gain a better comprehension of the American justice system and the inner workings of law, but what the club ultimately became for me was something more. Over the course of the next four years, I've met strangers I otherwise would never have come to know, and made friendships that will last me a lifetime.
Just a little about the club itself, though. The Mock Trial Program, organized by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, is a nationwide competition that begins at the county level. Each team consists of 16 to 18 members, split among a prosecution and defense squad. Each squad consists of three trial attorneys, who question witnesses and make opening statements or closing arguments to the judge and jury, one pre-trial attorney who directly addresses the judge before the bulk of the trial takes place, and four witnesses apiece. Additionally, the clerk and bailiff belong to the prosecution and defense squads respectively.
During the competition itself, each school participates in a total of four trials over the course of two weeks. Of these four, the prosecution takes part in two, while the defense competes in the other two, and each is against a different school. For example, our prosecution team may go against Tamalpais High School's defense in the first trial, and our defense would compete against San Rafael High School's prosecution in their first trial.
My Role and Team Records:
2015-16: Defense pre-trial attorney: 2-2 Team Record, 1 MVP Award
2016-17: Prosecution trial attorney, closing statement: 1-3 Team Record, 1 MVP Award
2017-18: Prosecution expert witness: 2-2 Team Record, 1 Outstanding Performance Award and 1 MVP Award
During the 2017-18 tournament, five of our team members won Outstanding Performance Awards, including me, pictured center. Photo courtesy of Chris Sheron.