After 6 months of preparation, Gwynedd’s mock trial teams finally competed virtually on February 9^th and February 16^th. The competition took place via Zoom, and both teams performed extremely well- showcasing their preparation and talents. This year’s case was very interesting, with the main components of the case being centered around a mysterious death, an energy drink company, and a zombiepocalypse run.

Members were split into two teams, plaintiff and defense, in order to study the case and come up with the best argument possible for their side. On each side the girls were assigned roles of lawyers, witnesses, timekeepers, and shadows. This year the roles were extremely diverse, with a student from each grade in almost each of the four characters. Lawyers had the task of creating direct and cross examination questions as well as an opening and closing statement. Witnesses have a witness statement to memorize which is multiple pages long. Expert witnesses have the added task or memorizing difficult information. For example, most expert witnesses are some kind of doctor, so medical information and terms must be memorized by the witness. One timekeeper is assigned per team in order to keep track of each school’s time limit. Finally, shadows observe the girls in these roles in order to participate in them next year!

We are so proud of how hard our girls worked on their cases this year! Another huge shoutout goes to club moderator Mr. Hopkins and coach Mrs. Keagy, mock trial would not be possible without their hard work and support!