rhs mock trial team
By: Jacob Thomas
News Editor
Order in the court!
The RHS Mock Trial team recently finished their day in court on Saturday, March 1. They competed against 12 schools at the 37th District Courthouse in Macomb Township.
The defense team lost their match while the prosecution team won theirs.
The RHS defense team faced Capac’s prosecution team and the RHS prosecution team went up against Lutheran North’s defense squad.
RHS’s prosecution team consisted of Thomas Biafore, Olivia Kesler, and Amanda Vinson, while the Defense team had Anna Fraser, Sarah Campbell, and Brett Brincefield.
The case consisted of a murder in which a teenager was accused of shooting somebody.
Dr. Ladd who runs the Mock Trial team was very pleased with the performance of the group.
“We did well, about the same as years in the past. I am always impressed with how the kids do despite all of the short comings. We are always limited to the amount of time we can spend working on it and the amount of lawyers we have compared to other schools,” said Dr. Ladd.
Dr. Ladd credits the students to their ability to learn the material on the fly and compete in the courtroom.
“It’s really good stuff. It allows for the students to understand how a team of lawyers work,” said Dr. Ladd.
This was Olivia Kesler’s first year on the mock trial team.
“I had heard mock trial was really fun and I wanted to become more involved in different activities this year,” said Kesler, a senior.
The team put in a lot of work preparing for the one event they had.
“We met every Sunday for two hours for the past three months. The witnesses would practice witness statements and the lawyers would practice cross examining,” said Kesler.
Kesler wanted to be a part of the prosecution team.
“Prosecution is fun because you get to be the one pointing fingers and accusing,” said Kesler.
Mock trial has helped Kesler better understand court cases and provided new study techniques that will be beneficial for her future.
“I know more about court cases and the judicial system now than I did before. I am able to memorize things better now from studying everything,” said Kesler.
Overall, she would recommend other students to join Mock Trial because it is educational and fun but also realizes it’s not for everyone.
“It was a good experience, and I’m glad I did it. We had a lot of fun preparing and spending time together. I would recommend it to others but it’s not for everybody. Not everybody would be able to do it because it takes commitment,” said Kesler.
Sophomore Erika Schafer also spent her first year on the Mock Trial team this year.
“I joined because Dr. Ladd needed another member, but I’m glad that I did,” said Schafer.
The experience of being in a courtroom was nerve wrecking for Schafer.
“The competition was scary because you are in front of everyone and I had to be a witness and be cross-examined before being able to speak,” said Schafer.
The Mock Trial team has been both an educational and enjoyable experience for Schafer.
“It was really interesting. I learned what a court case would be like if I ever have to be a part of one. The people on the team were fun to be around and it was a good time,” said Schafer.
Senior Alaijah Bashi has been a four-year Mock Trial member.
“I have really enjoyed all four years of mock trial. I love competing against the other teams and seeing what they offer. Competing against other schools is really fun,” said Bashi.
Bashi was part of the defense team this year. Although the defense team lost, Bashi enjoyed the experience.
“We lost, but our prosecution team won which was good. We could have probably put more time into it, but we still did fairly well,” said Bashi.
Bashi first joined the mock trial team as a freshman to increase her public speaking skills realizing this would be an important ability later in life.
“I always get asked if I plan on studying law in college but the reason I joined mock trial was to increase my public speaking skills. Mock trial really has helped my ability to speak in front of others,” said Bashi.
Bashi also credits Dr. Ladd for preparing the students.
“Dr. Ladd is very good at helping us prepare for the process. We all support each other as well which helps during the competition,” said Bashi.
Objecting is a decisive part in a court case and Bashi says this was the most difficult thing to learn over her four years of experience.
“It was difficult to learn when and how to object in a court case. There are a lot of terms you need to know when you speak as well which was difficult at times,” said Bashi.
News Editor
Order in the court!
The RHS Mock Trial team recently finished their day in court on Saturday, March 1. They competed against 12 schools at the 37th District Courthouse in Macomb Township.
The defense team lost their match while the prosecution team won theirs.
The RHS defense team faced Capac’s prosecution team and the RHS prosecution team went up against Lutheran North’s defense squad.
RHS’s prosecution team consisted of Thomas Biafore, Olivia Kesler, and Amanda Vinson, while the Defense team had Anna Fraser, Sarah Campbell, and Brett Brincefield.
The case consisted of a murder in which a teenager was accused of shooting somebody.
Dr. Ladd who runs the Mock Trial team was very pleased with the performance of the group.
“We did well, about the same as years in the past. I am always impressed with how the kids do despite all of the short comings. We are always limited to the amount of time we can spend working on it and the amount of lawyers we have compared to other schools,” said Dr. Ladd.
Dr. Ladd credits the students to their ability to learn the material on the fly and compete in the courtroom.
“It’s really good stuff. It allows for the students to understand how a team of lawyers work,” said Dr. Ladd.
This was Olivia Kesler’s first year on the mock trial team.
“I had heard mock trial was really fun and I wanted to become more involved in different activities this year,” said Kesler, a senior.
The team put in a lot of work preparing for the one event they had.
“We met every Sunday for two hours for the past three months. The witnesses would practice witness statements and the lawyers would practice cross examining,” said Kesler.
Kesler wanted to be a part of the prosecution team.
“Prosecution is fun because you get to be the one pointing fingers and accusing,” said Kesler.
Mock trial has helped Kesler better understand court cases and provided new study techniques that will be beneficial for her future.
“I know more about court cases and the judicial system now than I did before. I am able to memorize things better now from studying everything,” said Kesler.
Overall, she would recommend other students to join Mock Trial because it is educational and fun but also realizes it’s not for everyone.
“It was a good experience, and I’m glad I did it. We had a lot of fun preparing and spending time together. I would recommend it to others but it’s not for everybody. Not everybody would be able to do it because it takes commitment,” said Kesler.
Sophomore Erika Schafer also spent her first year on the Mock Trial team this year.
“I joined because Dr. Ladd needed another member, but I’m glad that I did,” said Schafer.
The experience of being in a courtroom was nerve wrecking for Schafer.
“The competition was scary because you are in front of everyone and I had to be a witness and be cross-examined before being able to speak,” said Schafer.
The Mock Trial team has been both an educational and enjoyable experience for Schafer.
“It was really interesting. I learned what a court case would be like if I ever have to be a part of one. The people on the team were fun to be around and it was a good time,” said Schafer.
Senior Alaijah Bashi has been a four-year Mock Trial member.
“I have really enjoyed all four years of mock trial. I love competing against the other teams and seeing what they offer. Competing against other schools is really fun,” said Bashi.
Bashi was part of the defense team this year. Although the defense team lost, Bashi enjoyed the experience.
“We lost, but our prosecution team won which was good. We could have probably put more time into it, but we still did fairly well,” said Bashi.
Bashi first joined the mock trial team as a freshman to increase her public speaking skills realizing this would be an important ability later in life.
“I always get asked if I plan on studying law in college but the reason I joined mock trial was to increase my public speaking skills. Mock trial really has helped my ability to speak in front of others,” said Bashi.
Bashi also credits Dr. Ladd for preparing the students.
“Dr. Ladd is very good at helping us prepare for the process. We all support each other as well which helps during the competition,” said Bashi.
Objecting is a decisive part in a court case and Bashi says this was the most difficult thing to learn over her four years of experience.
“It was difficult to learn when and how to object in a court case. There are a lot of terms you need to know when you speak as well which was difficult at times,” said Bashi.