Mock Trial is an academic programme that is as it sounds. It is a competition modeled after court cases. There are diverse roles that cater to every personality; roles such as attorneys and witnesses and bailiffs all have their respective responsibilities.

The Yorba Linda Mock Trial team participated in 4 competitions this year, two competitions for the defense and two for the prosecution. Unfortunately, Yorba Linda High School did not break into the playoffs, however, the team is now training understudies and preparing for the next season. While the team did not make it through the preliminary rounds, individual awards are still pending.

This year the case was People versus Klein, a court case involving a criminal threat charge and making a false emergency report, or Swatting. The defense argued the innocence of the defendant using expert opinions and witnesses while the prosecution used similar resources to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of the charges.

Aside from the regular trial, there was also the pretrial arguments. The pretrial arguments centered around a specific statement made by the defendant: “You deserve to die. I’m going to get you for this, you just wait. I hate you. When you’re dead no one will even miss you, you monstrous slime of a person. You think you can stick me with a $34,000 lawsuit and just get away with it? Watch your back Sawyer, I’m coming for you.” Then using past legal precedents such as DC versus RR or People vs Allen or People vs Jackson, pretrial attorneys argued on whether or not the statement constituted a true threat.

If Mock Trial is a program that an academic activity that seems interesting, now is an excellent time to join. The offseason is a time where older, more experienced attorneys train younger understudies or upcoming attorneys and witnesses with an older case. Moreover, most of the attorneys are upperclassmen, therefore younger members who join now would have more opportunities next year.

Furthermore, aside from being an excellent time to join Mock Trial, an academic program such as this has multiple benefits ranging from developing practical skills that carry into the real world to learning legal precedents and how a court works to simply being a fun activity and chance to make new friends.

Rishi Kheni(12) enjoyed his season of mock trial, wishing “[he] had joined mock trial his freshman year because it is truly an amazing program that allows for any aspiring attorney to develop incredibly useful skills and knowledge.”