Classical Mock Trial Team eyes championship

LYNN – If you had Lynn Classical High School making it to the Sweet 16 in your Mock Trial office pool, your bracket is still looking strong.Heading into March with an undefeated 3-0 record, the Mock Trial team is awaiting their next opponent, either St. John’s Prep or Ipswich High School, contingent on a competition between the two this week.If they secure another victory, they will move on to the elite eight, just like the NCAA basketball tournament.Although the competition in the courtroom differs in style from that on the hardwood, the match-ups are often just as close with the margin of victory rarely more than a few points.For example, Mock Trial Coach Frank Grealish said last year’s team, with nearly all of the same members as this year, finished their season 0-3, and never lost by more than two points.The annual Mock Trial competition, sponsored by the Massachusetts Bar Association, pits teams of middle and high school students against one another in a complicated and involved jury trial, judged by actual judges and attorneys who give out points on a scale of 0-10 based on each individual performance.Each November, the Massachusetts Bar Association releases the details of the case, usually rotating between civil and criminal trials. Team members choose what role they would like to play, everything from attorney to witness, and are judged individually based on their performance during the trial.This year, the assigned case is a civil sexual harassment case, with complicated elements that will challenge the team members on both sides of the argument.Every competition involves the same case, but judges are different every time, so participants have to be at the top of their game in every element of their performance.”In order to score well they have to be disciplined and work as a team. A lawyer and a witness have to work well with one another,” said Grealish. “The main thing the bar emphasizes is constructive criticism and professionalism. You really have to learn how to act, and also to roll with the punches, because every judge is different. One judge could focus on one thing, and the next time you go to a competition the judge may not look at that part of it at all. You can’t get flustered, sometimes you kind of see the novice participants getting frustrated, and you have to avoid that.”Training for the competitions is both time-consuming and difficult to organize. Team members say the most difficult part of being on the team is coming up with a way to get everyone together.The team is also getting some hands-on training at Lynn District Court, as probation officer Donald Castle and Judge Albert S. Conlon have allowed the team to come in and view court proceedings, and even go before the judge and practice for the competition.Students say the professionals give them advice on appearance and attitude, and presented constructive criticism on how to act in a real courtroom setting.The team has also served as jurors in a Harvard Law School Mock Trial case.Team members are excited to be heading for the next round of the competition, and fully believe they are the best team in the state.For some senior members a win would be slightly more meaningful this year, as they have been a part of the Mock Trial team since middle school and would like to go out as state champions.”We have a very good team this year,” said captain Alexander Rittershaus. “I am very proud.”Team members thanked family members and the First Lutheran Church for supporting the team, along with the Massachusetts Bar for their continued funding of the Mock Trial tournament.Grealish said the team is not sure when they will have their next competition, but it will take place some time next week when the scheduling is complete.