This fall Aryana Berhane (11), and Catherine Schneider (11) founded the first Mock Trial team at RAHS. Mock Trial is an activity where students simulate the people involved in court cases. The founders’ vision included building a community of students, new strategies for law and society, and different ways of critical thinking.
The Ville sat down for interviews with Mock Trial’s student leaders to learn about the new program.
What are the type of cases that mock trial usually covers?
Aryana Berhane (11), explained they covered a variety of different cases from civil to criminal. RAHS has never had a mock trial team before, from what she knows. This year they are covering a civil case.
Catherine Schneider (11), explained that each year, they rotate between civil and criminal cases. Although these cases are not real, they are run to simulate a real trial. This year they have a civil case between two former business partners suing over defamation or a damaged reputation.
How is the performance evaluated and what rules are made for a trial?
Berhane (11), explained that you’re given a case for the year, and you can be on defense or on the side of the plaintiff. Participants compete against different schools in which you will be evaluated on how well you can defend your side, whether that means proving someone guilty or innocent.
What inspired you to make this group for RAHS?
Berhane (11) and Catherine (11), both agreed that they thought it was important for students at RAHS to have many career options. They explained that law is an important field and that even if you don’t want to study it, you can learn many different skills that can be applied to all parts of your life and for future careers.
Schneider (11), explained that she was inspired to bring mock trials to high school students because they provided both fun and opportunities.
Berhane and Schneider both participated in the middle school mock trial team in eighth grade and enjoyed working on the case.
Schneider explained that the most exciting experience was getting to try a case in the courtroom with a real Minnesota judge, as well as working with lawyers and law students.
They both explained it was a great way to build community and learn from different people. We learned from a bunch of different lawyers that come in different experiences.
What are the key roles and responsibilities in a mock trial team?
Berhane (11) said, “The roles and responsibilities for a regular mock trial team would have witnesses in a case that are playing some type of role; they would have attorneys that are arguing for the case or against the case…I encourage people to research more about it and to see if this is something that might be a great fit for them.”
Berhane (11), explained, that the club became official this year, but last year they were in the process of making it. One of the steps in making the club official was talking to the activities director and stating a case for why mock trial would be benefit RAHS students.
