By Maya Gambhir, Staff Writer
Several of our River Hill academic teams are entering the thick of their competition season this month. One of these clubs is the Mock Trial team, who began their weekly trials this past month against other Howard County Schools.
The team spent much of November and December in the audition and preparation stages, but this month, they’ve begun to showcase their hard work. The team’s first trial was held on January 16 when they went up against the Long Reach Lightning, who snagged the win in a final score that totaled 110-112. The Hawks remain confident, with Junior Lawyer Alvin Lee explaining how “The first trial got us readjusted to how a trial flows and reminded us we have a lot of work to do.”
Even with the extensive preparation this past fall, the team’s work is far from over. Between trials, both lawyers and witnesses are constantly refining their arguments to make them stronger and more streamlined. Junior paralegals Huda Nassar and Sonya Gupta are critical in this role, as they take extensive notes at each trial to help the team identify their strong and weak points in each area. “Even after a win,” Gupta states, “there’s always more to do since we pick up on new strategies from each trial and can make our arguments more cohesive.”
Trials are held weekly at the Howard County Circuit Court, with the team alternating between playing Prosecution and Defense. Seasoned witness Huda Nassar explains that trial days can be “a little nerve-racking just trying to feel like you’re prepared beforehand.” Still, she says, those nerves are outweighed by the “excitement of being able to be able to compete with your team.”
The trials can last up to three hours, and require an exceptional amount of mental stamina. Junior Lawyer Siana Kabara explains “It’s surprisingly easy to stay focused and locked in through a whole trial because you just get so into it.” Trials never seem to have a dull moment, whether it’s an unexpected objection or a curveball thrown by the other team. “A key part of a trial is adapting to unexpected things and remaining cool and collected,” Kabaria also notes.
During the trials, lawyers must be prepared to change their line of questioning at any point, and witnesses must be able to mold to a new set of questions at every trial, which adds an extra level of excitement. Witnesses must respond to a set of questions by the other team that are intended to invalidate their story in the trial. Nassar also explains how her “favorite part about being a witness is getting to embody a character and deciding how [she] wants her to be portrayed.” As much as there is a method to Mock Trial, there is also a lot of room for creativity and thinking outside the box. New lawyer Chris Li shed light on how “the fact that the case was designed for competition purpose [makes it] a relatively equal match-up for both sides. This means that “lawyers must do excess work to ensure that the case leans toward their respective sides.”
The River Hill Mock Trial community is very tight-knit, as also remarked by Li, who said “Sometimes after trials or practices, the team would even go to dinner together….Time spent as part of the Mock Trial is always time well spent!” The team focuses on collaboration both in and out of the courtroom, as they continue meeting over the weekends to make technical adjustments. When it came to the Long Reach trial, Sophomore witness Mark Li remarked that “we stuck together as a team well but we could be more confident overall considering technical adjustments are being made in the meantime.”
In the coming weeks, the Hawks will face off against Wilde Lake, Atholton, and Howard High Schools before entering out-of-county playoffs. Our River Hill Mock Trial Hawks are determined to showcase their hard work and dedication, and keep up their streak of successful seasons!