Mock Trial Preparing for Regionals

Think you know King’s Mock Trial team? Think again. Though the team was characterized last year by notoriously long van rides and little tangible progress, this year the Kingsian Mockers are preparing for some serious competition.

Luke Trouwborst and Jessica Lee at a University of Vermont Scrimmage last year.

Since their inception one year ago, Mock Trial has grown from a meager group of ten to over twenty students. A combination of first time mockers and seasoned veterans, The King’s Mock Trail team is on the trajectory that will hopefully land them a spot in regionals in the spring.

So what is so different this year? “We are a lot more organized," Vice President Mary Pham said. They also are starting off strong, going to the Quaker Classic at University of Pennsylvania sometime late this semester. In the past, this scrimmage has hosted schools such as Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and Yale.

The Quaker Classic is not the only event that will allow King’s students to go head-to-head with the academic elite. Regionals will attract all the colleges that are in the College Mock Trail association including Ivy Leagues. There is a lot to do before this February competition.

For starters, they have to fashion a strategic “performance” for both the prosecution and defense centered on a criminal case.

“This year’s case has a lot of legal precedent to go off of," Co-President Jo Williams said. "It’s essentially a ‘real world’ case.”

The 2011-2012 case is about a DUI offender who consequently killed a prosecutor’s daughter. “To pull off the roles of the witnesses, we need actors,” Williams said. The partnership of critically thinking prosecutors and believable witnesses is the key to a successful team.

This kind of teamwork is preparation for life. “Mock trial is the perfect organization to join if you want to work in some sort of business because you have to work underneath people, manage other people and keep team members accountable,” Williams said. Essentially, Williams says, Mock Trial gives real-world experience. Pham says that Mock Trial is great because you can work on your speaking skills, researching skills and critical thinking skills.

The Kingsian Mockers also offers their team members contacts in the legal world. Aside from Professor Jim Treffinger, who teaches Business Law, the mockers are bringing in other New York City lawyers to help the team polish their case.

The organization is still accepting new members. If you are interested, email Williams at Jordan.williams@tkc.edu.