Win for Mock Trial Team

The Mock Trial Club started the New Year in style, with the prosecution team earning a first-place finish in the opening round of the Vincent J. Apruzzese Annual High School Mock Trial Competition. In addition to the team win, seniors Jessica Abowitz and Anthony Lake garnered special recognition for best witness and best attorney, respectively. The defense team will have its turn to compete on Wednesday, January 10.

 

The annual Mock Trial High School competition, held each January at the Somerset County Courthouse, brings together teams from ten high schools in the county. Teams begin preparing for the event in the fall when the details of the case are released. Each year brings a new fictional case, which is based on current events and important principles of law. This year’s case, a murder, concerns the opioid epidemic. Cases alternate between criminal and civil so that teams have a chance to take part in each; last year’s trial surrounded a defamation of character suit.

 

After the victory, performing arts teacher and ninth-grade dean Margery Schiesswohl, who co-advises the Mock Trial Club with history teacher Christine Chan, said, "This year’s team has five students who are new to the club. I am not only excited about their early success but also incredibly encouraged for the future of the program."

 

The Mock Trial Competition is sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association. 

 

Photo from left to right: front row, Giselle Garcia '18, Rachel Wei '18, Anthony Lake '18, Emily Smith '20; back row, Achilles Aslidis '18, Jessica Abowitz ’18 and Casey Nerone ’20. Absent from photo, Charlotte Ruffine '21.