UV wins Mock Trial tournament

By Minda Conroe

Sun Staff Intern

NEW BERLIN – The Unadilla Valley High School Mock Trial team was recognized last week by the Chenango County Bar Association as the 2007 County Champions.

Our team, comprised of 10 students under the guidance of Coach Rick Loeffler and attorney/advisor Thomas Miller, competed against other area schools such as Gilbertsville Mt-Upton, Bainbridge-Guilford and Afton. Competitions were held in Norwich at the county courthouse or in city court.

Mock Trial is a school activity that not only requires time and dedication from its members, but also skill and knowledge. Each December, teams are presented with a fictitious case. This year, the schools tried a cyber-stalking case. Each case comes in a booklet that includes the stipulated facts, or the basic story of the case, some actual related court cases, and the excerpt from the Penal Law of the main crime committed in the case. It is the team’s responsibility to read and understand both sides of the case – the defense and the prosecution. The teams must prepare for both sides, as they could be either at one or another time during a competition.

There are two main roles in a Mock Trial Competition: a lawyer and a witness. The lawyer, for either the defense side or prosecution, must prepare questions to ask witnesses. They will prepare direct examination questions, which they ask their own witnesses, and cross-examination questions, for the “opposing counsel’s” witnesses. Lawyers must be quick-thinkers, ready to object to unfair questioning or un-responsive answers, and readily explain themselves. Lawyers also must prepare opening and closing statements, which set the stage and close the curtains on the trial.