By Hannah ’22
I have been part of the Harvard-Westlake mock trial team for the past three years, and this year I was the captain. I am constantly asked the question “what is mock trial?” and I like to answer that with “it’s like the cousin of debate.” In mock trial, you get a case packet, some people are witnesses and some are attorneys, you write opening and closing statements and direct and cross examinations, and you compete against other schools in front of a real judge at a real court in a trial simulation. Hence the name mock trial.
I originally joined mock trial because my sister did it. My sister and I are very different people, so I was pretty convinced I wouldn’t like it and would just drop out, but I don’t know, something about it just seemed like the thing to do. It was a community. It was a team. But it wasn’t a sport. It was academic and rigorous with high risks and high rewards. So, I tried out. My tryout went horribly. It was clear that I had absolutely no understanding of how a cross examination should be conducted. I was asking open ended questions up the wahzoo and jumping around the case all over the place. But by some miracle, I was given a spot on the team.
It is safe to say that I loved my experience with mock trial. I came back year after year and was appointed one of the captains of the team. Mock trial made me feel connected to the school in the way a sports team did. It was fun to represent Harvard-Westlake and tune into that competitive part of myself. It was a really great community too. As a sophomore, I got to be friends with upperclassmen that gave me good advice about what classes to take and which teachers to request and made me feel secure and welcome in my transition to the upper school. As a senior, I’ve tried to play that same role. It’s also really nice to befriend the lowerclassmen and just expand my circle of friends.
Our team this year was incredible. Not incredible in the way that we were state champions or anything (in fact, we got out after the first round), but in the way that we improved tremendously and really built a community along the way. At our last meeting, we went around and talked about what a great experience we all had with mock trial this year. People who had never done it before talked about falling in love with the activity and wanting to do it again next year. They talked about how proud they were with how much we had improved. It was a bittersweet ending, but I know that the experience I had in mock trial and the friendships I made will stay with me, even if the season is over.
