Mock Trial

Written by: Ander Renelt

It’s that time of year again! The Mock Trial teams have completed their first round of competitions, and the results are very exciting. Before I get to that though, I want to talk to you a little bit about this year compared to last.

We still have two teams competing this year, both very well trained thanks to the help of Mr. Muller and some attorney coaches as well. The teams have been preparing since November/December, just for one day of competition, with another day if you advance beyond the first round. That means that every team gives it their “A” game on competition day, as this is what the team has been building to for months.

This year’s mock trial case was an interesting one. It was about a business partner of the defendant and main suspect being locked in a freezer. The witnesses include the defendant, a detective, a loan shark (another main suspect), a jailhouse snitch, an accountant, and an expert in organized crime. As someone who personally has competed for both the prosecution and defense sides I personally think that the defendant is guilty, but the verdict is purposefully left up to interpretation, as Mock Trial scoring is based on the team’s performance as a whole, rather than who “won” the case.

Finally, we have the awards. This year both teams received an insane amount of awards, which are listed below.

Outstanding Attorney: Carter Herman (x2), Finn Smith, Rebecca Kimball, Ellie Northup.

Outstanding Witness: Ben Perkins (x2), Ander Renelt, Theo McGuirk, Josefina Chiozza.

And last but not least, one of our teams ended up advancing to the second round of competitions.

This year, we also had a very large amount of spectators come watch the matches, faculty and students. Everyone is so glad that people were able to take time out of their weekends to come support our teams, we are very grateful and we hope that you all had a great time.

That’s it for the Mock Trial 2026 Update. Congratulations to all the award winners, and tune in next year for more Mock Trial news.