Glen A. Wilson’s Mock Trial team took its first win in their competitions on Nov. 3.
The Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) hosts Mock Trial competitions that challenge middle school and high school students to prepare and present a case before a professional judge. After two months of rigorous training, GAWHS Mock Trial’s defense team earns a winning score of 428, sending the team’s prosecution team into the competition.
Leading up to the win, co-captain Ryan Xu (12) explains the process of preparation over the past two months.
“The team has been preparing for the competition in a variety of ways,” said Xu. “Recently, we have been scrimmaging and inviting former alumni to assist our practices, which has helped us greatly.”
As these preparatory scrimmages and practices continue to strengthen the team’s performance in the second round, defense team trial attorney Yumeng Chen (10) wishes the team good luck as they move on.
“I want to tell every single one of our members that I am so proud of you all – you guys absolutely slayed,” Chen comments. “As we move onto the second round, remember to object, and no need to be nervous for cross-examination!”
After the first win, Mock Trial members also reflect on judges’ and scorers’ comments and evaluations to make improvements accordingly. To this, defense witness Olivia Du (9) shares the key aspects that the defense and prosecution teams should work on.
“While the defense team’s [witnesses] did great with staying in character and the prosecution team have very strong attorneys, “ Du summarizes. “I would say the defense should work on pretrial and the prosecution should work on building character in their witnesses.”
Although the next competition date is still unknown, GAWHS’s Mock Trial team will be working over the next weeks to refine their performance against more competitive opponents in future rounds. Let’s wish them good luck!
