By Maya Gambhir, Staff Writer
As fall festivities come to an end, River Hill has begun to gear up for its exciting winter athletics and activities season. One of these highly anticipated activities is Mock Trial!
The Mock Trial Club, sponsored by Mr. Fisher, competes in trials against other Howard County high schools throughout the winter season. Given a fictional but realistic court case at the start of November, the team spends the time before winter break meticulously preparing to argue their side through persuasive speeches and examinations of witnesses. “It’s an extraordinary opportunity for students, and one of the best activities any high school offers,” remarks Mr. Fisher, because it “challenges students to develop skills in leadership, critical and strategic thinking as well as public speaking.”
Over the past few weeks, auditions have been held for the two positions on the team: lawyers and witnesses. Captain Victoria Qin is “excited to see how much interest the club has gained,” and “can’t wait to see how everyone does this year.” With all spots now filled, the team is now gearing up to assign characters to all witnesses. One new witness, Samara Winrose, says she “partnered with a lawyer to begin building [her] direct examination,” where she will be asked questions by a lawyer on her side to tell her story in the courtroom.
The River Hill Mock Trial team has been on a successful streak as reigning county champions. Last season, the team even made it to the state semi-final round. Lawyer Alvin Lee remarks that “last season was a lot of work, but as we kept winning it became very rewarding,” and he’s “hoping to do even better this year.”
This season’s case is especially exciting, as remarked by new lawyer Siana Kabaria, because it is a criminal trial. This means that the team will be working to prove the guilt of one of the characters in the story. According to Kabaria, “this year’s case pertains to a cyberbullying incident that occurred in a high school student council election campaign.” The prosecution lawyers have the burden of proving the guilt of the defendant. On the other hand, the defense lawyers will be arguing to prove her innocence.
Each trial against each school will have its own outcome, explained Junior Sonya Gupta. “This case can really go both ways since there are so many moving pieces and aspects to consider,” she remarks. This means that each verdict will come down to the team’s performance and persuasiveness. According to seasoned witness Huda Nassar, having a “sense of community within the team is crucial [as well as having] communication and chemistry between lawyers and witnesses,” both in the courtroom and during preparation.
This year, the team plans to place extra emphasis on their cross-examinations. During a cross-examination, a lawyer from the River Hill team will question a witness from the opposing team, and the River Hill witnesses will have to be prepared to respond to the opposing team’s lawyers. This is one of the most difficult aspects for both lawyers and witnesses to prepare for. “Oftentimes, we’re going into cross-examinations with little idea of what to expect, so we really have to think on our feet,” comments Captain Sitara Chakkamadathil.
The team is ready to kick their season off, with many exciting things, like witness placements and a mock-mock with real judges, all on the books in the coming weeks. RHHS wishes them the best of luck, and can’t wait to see the amazing things this team will do this season!