Students compete in Mock Trial

Participating as Mock Trial Team #1 are, First Row, left to right–Kent Stejskal, Trent Scheitel, and Ethan Fritz; Second Row–Zach Ernst and Tonya Davis. In the back are Trevor Harling and Clint Bartek. Lisa Kopf is not pictured.

After the official practice round in Auburn, this year's Mock Trial teams began the regional competition round. It was a single elimination tournament.

FCHS team #1 traveled to Auburn on October 2 to compete against HTRS team #2. The Falls City team served as the State asking that the Respondent Kev Inruser be deported back to his home country. Presiding Judge Bryan felt the FCHS team performed very well in competition, but they lost on a split vote from the performance judges. It was a close decision that disappointed an experienced team of lawyers. Kent and Trent have served as lawyers for 4 years each and Ethan for 3 years. Clint Bartek was also a seasoned witnesses, but he had to serve as an alternate due to illness.

Competing as Mock Trial Team #2 are First Row, left to right–Phillip Doerr, Brent Maze, and Zech Bragg; Second Row–Willie Neubauer, Logan Faller, and Julianne Kopf. Alternate Amanda Wilhide is not pictured.

FCHS team # 2 traveled to Wilber to compete against Fillmore Central team #1 team on October 20. They performed on the side of the State asking that the Respondent Kev Inruser be deported from the United States. Coach Lori Rech said, "They performed very well against a seasoned older team. Although they lost the competition we received very good reviews, which will help those returning next year."

Coaches Mike Dunn and Lori Rech work with members of both mock trial teams during an early morning practice session.

Mock Trial is sponsored by the Nebraska Bar Association. Each year they send out a new “case” for mock trial teams to use in competition. The case is sent to each school in late August, and FCHS begins practice in early September after members have had a chance to read over the new case. The teams practice two mornings every week (usually beginning by 7:15 until school starts at 8:00) from early September until competition begins in mid October. Mr. Mike Dunn, the lawyer coach, helps at every practice.

Each year the case is written by a committee within the Nebraska Bar Association. While it is a fictional case, it usually has some connection to real events or a real case situation. The case is usually either a civil case or a criminal case – however, this year it was an immigration case.

The case assigned to the teams this year was the following:

IN THE MATTER OF Kev Inruser
A23 571 113
In removal proceedings

Schools are divided into geographic regions for competition. Schools in our region this year included the following: Falls City, 2 teams; HTRS, 2 teams; Johnson-Brock, 2 teams; Lewiston; Crete; and Fillmore Central, 2 teams.

Competition involves each team serving as one side of the case – either the prosecution (State) or the plaintiff (defendant).The two teams then conduct an actual trial with a presiding judge hearing the case and performance judges, usually 2 or 3, serving as the jury.  Teams have to be prepared to try both sides of a case since the teams switch sides as they advance from one round of competition to the next.

Each team consists of six members, three lawyers and three witnesses, plus additional alternates if needed to fill in. The Trial begins with opening statements by lawyers from both sides. This is followed by witnesses who have to answer direct questions from their lawyer and cross examination questions from the other team’s lawyer. At the end of questionings, each team gives a closing argument.

The presiding judge makes decisions on objections by lawyers and makes sure the proceedings run smoothly. The performance judges actually evaluate the performance by each team to determine a winner.

Mock Trial is a combination of acting, speech, and understanding the law. It’s a tough academic competition!

Following the competition, Coach Rech said, "Because of the large number of seniors on this year’s teams, there will be several openings for participants next year. Mr. Dunn, who is invaluable to us as our lawyer coach, and I have already been working on what we can do for next year’s teams. Even though we won’t know what the court case will be for 2010, we can still recruit members for next year and work out practice times and strategies for success what ever the case may be." She added, " If you get an opportunity you may want to come and watch a competition next year!"