Mock Trial Wins States; Off to Nationals in Idaho

Exeter’s Mock Trial A team won the New Hampshire State Championship over the past weekend, after a term of hard work, practice and preparation. They spent Saturday and Sunday in Nashua and Merrimack, respectively, in real courthouses where lawyers acted as judges. They had worked at length on the case for a period of three months and arrived well prepared at the competition on Saturday.The team consisted of students with a great range of age and experience. Co-heads Rebecca Ju, Holly MacAlpine and Yena Cho, all seniors, lead all prior meetings and took care of the logistics of the team. Cho described Mock Trial meetings as reminiscent of a Harkness discussion. “Each person brings his/her own set of skills to the team and uses it to help the team further solidify its case,” she explained. “Everyone is 100 percent engaged in the meetings (which can go for five hours at a time) and is paying attention so that he/she can share critique of others’ work afterwards.”

“Seeing the Mock Trial official lift up the trophy and call our name was an unbelievable feeling.”

In addition to the A Team’s big victory, Mock Trial’s B and C teams placed in the top four slots going into the semifinal rounds. Cho expressed pride that Exeter’s C team managed to beat out some of the top teams in New Hampshire. MacAlpine agreed, saying that it was not only the A team’s hard work that paid off. “As the team is really young this year, I am so proud of all the witnesses and lawyers for putting their all in to get their victories,” she said.All winter term, Mock Trial’s A team met for two hours every Wednesday and Saturday. In the final week before the State Championship, the A team logged over twenty-four hours together in meetings. Lower Anna Clark said that despite the time commitment, these hours improved the dynamic of the team. “Mock trial has really become another ‘fam’ at Exeter that I cannot imagine my life without,” said Clark. Cho agreed and said, “The amount of time spent in preparation almost makes it inevitable that we are very close to each other. We are friends who just really like Mock Trial.”MacAlpine too said that as a result of the time they spend together practicing and prepping, A Team is very close. She said, “The nature of the work we do is often critical, so we work hard and foster a pretty serious atmosphere in meetings. But we’re also a family, and we know how to keep the dynamic light and to have a laugh every once in awhile.”Thanks to their diligence, the A team excelled at the competition in terms of preparation. MacAlpine commended her team’s witnesses, noting that each received positive feedback on their acting abilities as well as their impressive responses to opposing lawyers’ cross questions. She added that the lawyers performed equally well, giving strong statements and witness examinations. “It was an all around great competition for Exeter,” said MacAlpine.Cho agreed with MacAlpine and said that Exeter’s Mock Trial team has worked continuously to hone their witness character and objections. “We worked hard to create interesting, believable characters for all of our witnesses, using subtle details and/or storylines,” she explained. “As for objections, we practiced them meticulously, making sure we knew all of the relevant rule numbers and knew how to present our objections in a concise manner.”Younger team members commended their co-heads’ leadership throughout the year and admired their aptitude at the competition. “Most of the co-heads have been doing mock trial for four years, and it shows in the way they are able to put together opening statements, closing statements and more,” lower Daisy Tichenor said.In fact, this year, Mock Trial did not have an adult adviser guiding the team since their previous coach, Walter Stahr, whose wife taught mathematics at Exeter last year, now resides in California. Though the co-heads arranged Skype sessions and exchanged emails with Stahr, they carried the brunt of the leadership responsibilities for mentoring the less experienced members of the team as well as preparing for themselves. Cho said, “That all three teams performed so well at the competition, despite not having an adult, experienced coach, acts as a testament to the intelligence and dedication of all of our team members.”Clark further appreciated her co-heads’ dedication and said,“[The victory] was a special moment for all of us, but I'm especially proud of and grateful for Holly, Rebecca and Yena.”Lower Josephine de La Bruyère admired the commitment of the team as a whole and described the motivated energy the team exuded going into the competition. “We've been working on this case for months, putting in a huge amount of time and effort,” she began. “We didn't go into States hoping for a learning experience and stories to laugh about. We went into States gunning for the trophy, hoping to wake the other teams up with nightmares.”Tichenor agreed. “Seeing the Mock Trial official lift up the trophy and call our name was an unbelievable feeling,” she said. “Knowing that the weeks of preparation and hours of lost sleep had paid off, and knowing that the work meant something gave a special meaning to the victory.”The A team will receive their case for Nationals on the first of April and will spend the next month preparing for the four day competition in Boise, Idaho. They will receive a criminal case which will most likely concern death or injury. Until they receive the case, they plan to watch film from last year’s competition and to memorize the National Rules of Evidence. They hope to set up scrimmages with the team representing Maine in an effort to practice before Nationals.Cho said that although Nationals presents a challenge far greater than States and although Exeter’s Mock Trial will undoubtedly face extraordinary teams, she is excited. “I think it will be an amazing learning experience for the team,” she said.