Previously said:
“You’re such a mom”
“Thanks Mom“
“You are going to make the greatest mom”
Quotes such as these I have heard many times. The past two days, I had judges scoring me on such ability.
The case:Jack Ramone, a 17-year-old boy died in a local club two years ago when a fire broke out at a concert. Why? A number of reasons of course, which is why it was a case to try. His lungs were full of smoke, being the actual cause of death, however all other patrons in attendance were able to exit the burning building in time. Jack was drunk and “chose” to go back into the building (to steal a guitar according to the defense).
Who’s to blame: The owner of the club, Hilly Glass, is one candidate. While she did all she was absolutely required to do, there were many safety suggestions made to which she did not adhere. The pyrotechnic display put on by the band, The Dutch Masters, which caused fire to catch onto the curtains was really not legal as the clubs license only allowed small-scale fireworks. The display of fireworks, especially the Spinner-Saxon effect was more of a medium-scale. Hilly Glass needed to update the curtains as they were old. Then there’s Jack, the one who is now dead, who made a conscious decision to return to the burning building.
Who testified:Jack’s best friend - Melanie, the fire inspector - Fran, the club owner - Hilly, the pyrotechnic expert - Stacey, the lead singer of the band - Rem Brandt (yeah that’s embarrassing), and finally the mother of Jack - Josephine Ramone.
The verdict: Every single judge and attorney we tried this case with, as well as those watching, wanted me to be their mom.
“If I ever died, I’d want you to be my mother.”
- Judge and actual real-life attorney
Final Score: We won our first two rounds at the district Mock Trial competition, advancing us to playoffs. Once at playoffs we competed against a well-prepared team (we only practiced once, the night before districts…most teams practice multiple times a week for months, they certainly did). The trial went on for three hours with only a combined total of twelve minutes for breaks. In the end, their score outweighed ours sending them to the state competition, which half of our team wouldn’t be able to attend anyway due to a show choir competition.
Last Thoughts: Mock Trial has been quite the experience the last four years of high school. I’m glad to have participated but also glad it is over. It was odd to think that our last trial has been tried and never again will I enter a courtroom to compete. Goodbye objections. Goodbye stammering opening statements. Goodbye unfitting business suits on high school students. Goodbye courtroom procedures. Goodbye fake introductions between teams. Goodbye eleven-hour trial days. Goodbye Iowa Mock Trial coordinator - John Wheeler. Goodbye horribly cheesy jokes uttered by John Wheeler. Goodbye ginormous case binders. Goodbye enlarged exhibits.
Goodbye Mock Trial
Lyrics from Mother, We Just Can’t Get Enough by New Radicals
