Court is in session!
Norwin’s Model United Club traveled to Cathedral of Learning for a Mock Trial competition on Saturday January 6 against other Pittsburgh area schools. The Mock Trial team is in their first year of competition. Mock Trial is a simulation of an actual courtroom and all the activities that take place in it. Students take the roles of prosecutors, defendants, witnesses, and much more. These students are given background information that gives them the information they need to act how their character would act and to do their best in court.
Norwin’s Mock Trial team has been working hard at refining their skills for their meets. The students have been getting together since November practicing with real lawyers, and people who know the legal system inside and out. Also a large amount of preparation is required for each meet. Part of this preparation could be developing questions, doing research, or just how to best role play their character.
Mock Trial is not only for these students to just compete, but also helps them gain a better understanding of the legal system. Mock Trial provides students with an interest in law a perfect opportunity to gain experience and learn more about how the law systems of the US truly work.
“It’s an interesting club and is definitely a good way to introduce me to how law and courts work,” senior Model UN member David Shepherd said.
Mock Trial is part of the larger Norwin club for Model UN which is advised by Mrs. Sturm. She has always made sure that her students have received the most out of their extra curricular activities. Mock Trial is no different. Sturm has her students rigorously prepare for their competitions with hours of practice whether that be after school in the library or at home on a zoom. A great deal of the students knowledge came from the teaching of lawyers Mrs. Deflitch and Mr. Barr, who have experience in the law system first hand.
All this practice led up to the team heading to Pitt for a two day competition the first weekend of January. Some of the time was spent for the schools present to practice and get feed back before the true competition started. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday’s competition, there was a total of four rounds for Norwin. The team itself is split up into two groups who are the defense and the prosecution. All the students present had different parts to play for the team. There were three lawyers and three witnesses on each of the teams. The trial itself is very similar to an actual trial. The competition took place at Pitt’s Cathedral of learning in separate classrooms.
“A lot of people stepped up big time and that created a great chemistry on the team,” senior Model UN member Drew Brown said. “We have a fantastic group of hard workers and great speakers.”
This meet at Pitt was the very first time Norwin Mock Trial has competed making it a true learning event for the participants and the advisors. Despite the first day of the conference not going exactly how they planned due to inexperience the second day showed a large amount of improvement in the students abilities after getting a better understanding of what was going on. Students’ better understanding led to the team being able to win a round and get great experience for the upcoming regional meet on Jan. 23 against Penn Trafford with another on Feb. 20 against Greensburg Salem.
“I’m glad that I had the opportunity to go to this meet,” junior Izzy Deflitch said. “It was a great learning experience for me and my classmates.”
The trial against Greensburg Salem in February will be held at Westmoreland County Courthouse with an actual judge going over the case. Even though the group has already had some experience their preparation and practice still go on in the hopes to dominate in their upcoming competition.
“I am very excited to see how the students do,” adviser Mrs. Larissa Sturm said. “I know they have put a great deal of time and effort into this and hope they come out on top.”
