Leesville Road High School will introduce a Mock Trial team this year. Leesville has had Mock Trial teams in the past, but this is the first team in a few years.
Students in the club pretend to be lawyers and witnesses in a court case. They will go to conferences where they “compete” against other teams. Teams are assigned a case, and the students present it and their side at a conference in February.
The conferences are judged by lawyers, judges, and other professionals familiar with the law and court. The panel judges teams based on a set of criteria, and how well they presented the case.
While there are many different mock trial organizations, Leesville will be participating in the North Carolina Advocates for Justice version.
Mock Trial benefits students in many ways. “I think that to be able to [participate in Mock Trial] as a teenager is very valuable and as you go into college and adulthood to have an experience like that…will benefit you,” said Melanie Spransy, one of the team advisors.
One requirement was to write a 3-5 paragraph essay on the topic of inmates being able to vote as their applications. The team had its first meeting on Thursday, December 4.
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