Derryfield Mock Trial Goes State Wide
Competition, controversy, and fancy attire - it’s all part of Mock Trial. As Derryfield takes on the challenge over the weekend of February 4th, we spoke with Co-Captain Lauren Rohlfs ’17 about what goes on behind the scenes and how our team debates their way to victory!
Led by seniors Olivia Husak, Jonathan Furlong, Richard Tarpey, Lauren Rohlfs, Jacob Miron, Samuel Anderson, and Katherine Kittler, the club is composed of two juniors, five sophomores, and four freshman. With such a large group, one can imagine organizing and preparing for a structured court case could be a challenge, but dedication has driven not only weekly meetings during activities periods and academic blocks, but weekend get-togethers to work on individual roles. During this time, Rohlfs comments, “We work as a team to create a theme to base our work off of and to ultimately produce a convincing case.”
Once well versed in their roles, DS Mock Trial laces up their dress shoes and heads to the State Competition at the Hillsborough County Superior Courthouse in Nashua, where they will spend three days and compete against different schools, with one team “putting up the prosecution side to the case and the other arguing the defensive side of the case.” The general framework for such a debate consists of a brief opening statement per team, six direct and redirect examination, six cross and recross examination, pre-closing preparation, a closing argument per team, and a rebuttal by the prosecution.
In the past, the team has proven they can hold their own among the best, coming in sixth place last year and in third place two years ago. Kittler ’17 was even awarded the Best Witness Award at the Yale Bulldog Invitational in 2016. In their current case, DS Mock Trial is fighting to maintain their top position as they take on a case regarding the negligence of a teacher who did not report student bullying. The case is relevant and complex, with both sides being supported by professional witnesses in psychiatry.
Lamplighter wishes DS Mock Trial the best in their competition!
Anja Stadelmann is a part of the Class of 2017 at DS and the Editor-in-Chief of Lamplighter.