After months of preparation, on Jan. 31, the Aragon Mock Trial team competed against Crystal Springs Uplands and Notre Dame Belmont in the first of its trials in the San Mateo County Mock Trial Competition at the Southern Branch of the Superior Court.
Early in October, all California Mock Trial teams were given the same hypothetical case, issued by the Constitutional Rights Foundation. This year, titled People v. Vega, the case centers on a hit and run incident where a car hit Cameron Douglas, an international triathlon competitor. Both Adrian Vega and Toni De Luca were in the car that hit Douglas, but it is unclear as to who was driving when the hit and run occurred. In the trial, the prosecution argues that Vega is guilty of the crime, while the defense claims he is innocent.
The Mock Trial team is split into the prosecution team and the defense team, and during practices, both sides test their arguments and examinations on each other during staged trials where each side competes with other schools’ prosecution and defense teams.
Adviser Carlo Corti states, “We practice every Sunday, which is the time where we give each other feedback on areas, like answering questions and emoting at the right times. We also have smaller lunchtime practices just to quickly prepare specific parts of the case. However, students do a lot of the work on their own. They write their questions on their own and memorize them on their own.”
Senior and team member Thomas Bebbington says, “Early on, most of the team concentrated on their individual goals, like becoming familiar with the case and writing drafts. As pre-trial attorney, I prepared by reading case law, compiling arguments, speaking with lawyers inside and outside the Mock Trial program, and memorizing my lines.”
Along with the usual preparation, the team also focused more on the theatrical aspect of mock trial this year.
Referencing this change in focus, Corti explains, “Last year, we felt like we were doing a lot better than other teams that were scoring better than us because they were performing really well. For example, we had an attorney last year who did such a good job on the cross examination of a witness that the witness admitted she was lying while on the stand. To me, that means that the person questioning her should get an incredible score, and the witness should get a horrible score. Yet, that witness was incredibly engaging, passionate, and emotive. And she got the highest possible score from all the judges. The person cross examining her didn’t even get a full score.”
Corti adds, “I think that, in the past, we thought the single most important thing was knowing the law, and we didn’t give enough attention to the fact that this is performance, too. It’s not an actual trial. It’s mock trial. And part of that is going to include performing the way you speak and the way you present yourself.”
When the first trials of the San Mateo County Mock Trial Competition started, there was a slight change in the normal procedures. Typically, teams are required to announce what school they are from. However, this year, each team remained anonymous and was assigned a letter from the alphabet to represent their team.
Corti says, “The intent is to sort of make sure that the playing field is balanced from the beginning and to make sure that there is no intentional or unintentional bias on the part of the judges before the trial starts.”
During mock trials, real attorneys and judges volunteer to be scorers and judges. A scorer grades each individual’s performance during the trial on a five-point scale, one being the lowest score and five being the highest score. While the judge does give a verdict in the case, the cumulative scores that the scorers give to the team determine the team’s standing in the competition.
In its first trial, Aragon’s defense team took on Crystal Springs’ prosecution team. In his final verdict, the judge concluded that Vega was ultimately not guilty, meaning that the defense had won the trial. Along with winning the trial, Aragon’s defense team also received a winning score: 104.9 to 95.1.
Later that night, in its second trial, Aragon’s prosecution team competed against Notre Dame’s defense team. In this trial, the judge also came to the verdict that Vega was not guilty. Notre Dame’s defense team also won this trial in terms of scoring, beating Aragon’s prosecution team 103.9 to 96.1.
After the scores were tallied, Aragon came in fourth place with an overall score of 201.0 after the first day of the competition. This score places Aragon only two points behind second place. Menlo, Notre Dame and Hillsdale hold first, second and third places respectively, out of seven schools.
On the trials, David Lim, Aragon’s Attorney Coach and the Mayor of San Mateo, comments, “Overall, I thought that the team was very well-prepared. The [prosecution] team did a great job of anticipating the questions that the defense attorneys were going to ask. They were also able to respond to all of the objections. In the early trial, the [defense] team actually did a really good job through attacking witnesses through objections and cross examinations. So, I think they had a really good trial as well.”
Senior and team member Alexis Harrington says, “It’s my first year being an attorney so this trial was definitely, for me, about getting comfortable with my role… for the team, I think the first trial was about getting out all the kinks, getting used to trial aspects, and growing more comfortable in the courtroom.
Corti adds, “Outside a few unexpected first night jitters, we did extremely well for our first trial. I thought all of our witnesses were phenomenal. They did not forget their lines or make any mistakes at all, which is incredibly rare, especially since many are experiencing mock trial for the first time.
With two more days of trials within its division in the upcoming weeks, the team will continue to work on improving on their weaknesses from the first trial.
Currently, the team is competing in the southern division of San Mateo County. If the team is able to make it to the top two in its division, then the team will face the top two teams in the northern division in the San Mateo County Mock Trial Semi-Finals.
Coming out of a poor season in the previous year, Harrington concludes, “Overall, I hope we will be able to score better, work as a team better, and feel more confident coming out of the trial this season.”
Aragon’s next trials are on Feb. 7 and 13 at the Southern Branch of the Superior Court in Redwood City.
