The Livingston High School Mock Trial Team provided the program for the Rotary Club of Livingston Thursday.
Eric Young serves as the CTE criminal justice instructor and Meagan Young serves as an advisor for the mock trial team. Eric Young said he got the mock trial team up and running a few years ago, but that it has been completely student-led ever since.
Team members include: Noe Trevino, a freshman; Mason Drappeaux, a sophomore; Carmello Ivory, a sophomore; Stetson Henagan, a sophomore; Tobias Johnson, a junior; Jaxon Grimm, a junior; Jase Harrison, a freshman; and Makayla Brooks, a junior. The president of the team is Denisse Diaz, who was unable to participate Thursday.
Grimm described the process as a courtroom simulation. He said the teams receive the case packet in October, come up with questions and witnesses and get to know the case backward and forward by January.
Henagan said the State of Texas comes up with a made-up case and the students have to simulate it. He said it helps with public speaking among other things and also teaches the students how to handle themselves in the courtroom.
Trevino said he was very humbled to be named ‘best attorney’ at the regional competition in February. He said you read the case and don’t know who the witnesses will be, but that you have to prepare for anything, navigate and perhaps even deliver the opening or closing statements.
Harrison said he won ‘best witness’ at state. He explained what a witness is, saying that it is an actor and that the students are basically playing a character and trying to convey the embodiment of the witness as a whole.
Drappeaux explained the roles of the courtroom artist who depicts what is going on in the courtroom, and the timekeeper who he said is very crucial.
Johnson talked about pre-trial motions, explained there are three witnesses on each side and that the teams have up to 22 minutes to present all the witnesses, cross examination and closing arguments.
Brooks touched on how the team prepares. After receiving the case in October, they memorize the entire witness statements and prepare both sides of the argument. She said Dustin Andreas, a local attorney, helped them tremendously. She said they compete initially at regionals, then at state in Dallas and then at nationals.
Ivory said the mock trial team first started with seven people and that the original seven earned second place at regionals. The team won first place at regionals both last year and again this year, finishing 27th out of 180 teams statewide. He said the goal is to fully expand the organization and hopefully reach nationals next year.
Ivory said the team had the opportunity to go to The University of Texas Law School and watch a college mock trial team competition which he said was very different.
