Mock Trial Team Takes Home the Trophy

Alissa Silva ’23 - Editor

A round of applause for the 2020 Mock Trial State Champions. On February 21 and 22 in Wilmington, Delaware, the Cape Henlopen Mock Trial team competed in the Annual Delaware High School Mock Trial. Out of 26 teams, Cape took first, being the first Sussex County and public school to ever win the competition in its 29 years running.

The Mock Trial Competition is similar to the Annual Delaware High School Mock Trial. During the trial, the jurors score the witnesses and attorneys on a 1 to 10 point scale, and the team with the highest points wins the round. The team with the highest points at the end of all four rounds wins the whole competition.

In this year's competition, Cape went undefeated in all four rounds, and went on to the finals against St. Elizabeth. A coin was flipped to figure out which school would be prosecution and which would be defense. “So when the coin flipped and it was chosen for the defense my immediate reaction was ‘oh no…’ but then I said ‘ok let’s do this.'” said senior Taylor Iacono, a witness for the defense on Cape’s team.

After the finals, there was a banquet in which the winner was announced. “It was incredible. It was four years of hours and hours of hard work, that came together perfectly for one unbelievable moment. Everybody was crying and hugging. It was the most excited I’ve ever been,” said senior Morgan Whittam, an attorney for the prosecution.

In Mock Trial, everyone demonstrated dedication and put in hard work over these last few months in preparation for the competition. When asked about what skills are learned from Mock Trial, April Betts, a mock trial coach said, “ They learn: public speaking skills, presentation skills, leadership skills, analytical skills, citizenship, self-confidence, and importance of honor and integrity.” Mock Trial is a fun and educational experience, which the students in this club have proven by winning this year.

Mock Trial is a club which simulates a real court trial. The teams have to create arguments for both sides of the case, prosecution and defense. On each side, there are three witnesses and three attorneys who prepare for the competition. Each side prepares an opening statement, direct examinations (asking questions to their own witness), cross-examination (asking questions to the other side's witness), and a closing argument. On top of creating all of these elements, there are time constraints on how long the sections are. Openings and closings are 5 minutes, direct examination is 25 minutes, and cross-examination is 20 minutes.

Cape should have been heading to Nationals in Evansville, Indiana this week. Unfortunately, with the COVID-19 outbreak, the national competition had to be cancelled. Hopefully, we’ll see our Mock Trial team achieve the same success and we’ll be celebrating them on the road to Nationals again in 2021!