UPDATE: Team Miller won its first playoff trial against Northwest, and moved onto semifinals against Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School (JDS). Miller’s team lost to JDS 59-57, leaving them with a record of 5-1, still marking the most successful run a WJ Mock Trial team has ever had.

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Following the Mock Trial competition on Feb. 24 between the rival WJ teams run by social studies teachers Steven Miller and Nathan Schwartz, The Pitch Online spoke with opposing team members.  One is junior Maxine Rich, a member of Team Schwartz, and the other, junior Rachel Simon, a member of Team Miller.

Which team are you on?

MR: I’m on Schwartz’s team. In other words, I’m not bad at Mock Trial.
RS: I’m on Mr. Miller’s team.

What was it like competing against people from your own school?

MR: I actually really love it. Even though it’s clearly competitive, it’s fun to be sassy and have a battle of wits and skill with your friends. And, after this trial, we all went for dinner and had a great time. It’s very friendly.
RS: Competing against people from our school is a lot of fun because there is lots of rivalry so we push each other to do better. When the trial comes, it’s a lot of fun to compete with and against people. For example, Maxine owes a member of our team $6 million because she bet [her] that Schwartz’s team would win. The trial against Schwartz is the most anticipated of the season.

What is your favorite part of mock trial? Least favorite?

MR: My favorite part of mock trial is definitely the rush you feel when you know you have the other team at a standstill. My least favorite is definitely all the practices. We meet Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at lunch, which can be hard. But don’t get me wrong, I love hanging out with my team at these practices.
RS: My favorite part of mock trial is, as a witness, that I get to talk a lot and I can make up stories that don’t dramatically alter the case, but help my team. Everybody has to listen, especially the cross-examination lawyer [from the other team] whose question provoked my lengthy response.

What happened during your mock trial meet on Thursday?

MR: Well, it was quite the showdown. In Mock Trial, there is a separate judgement for who wins the case, based on the facts presented, and who wins the overall Mock Trial, in terms of points, based on performances. We won the case, meaning the judge ruled in our favor, but, in terms of points, we lost. But, mind you, only by one point. Schwartz rules!
RS: We beat Schwartz’s team by only one point… They did a really good job, but so did we, and it was a really exciting trial. Our team has won all four trials in the normal season, which is a first for WJ.

What is your role/position in the mock trial?

MR: I’m a drunk kid’s mom. In other words, I play a witness named Tyne Lechter. My family is being sued for $6 million because I let my child drive after consuming alcohol and, in doing so, two kids were hit.
RS: I am a witness. This year my name is Sergeant Andi  McCrystal and I’m a cop at the Centreville Police Department.

How did you prepare for this particular mock trial event?

MR: Like I said, we meet at lunch and have a few after-school practices and run the trial. We think of potential motives for why the witnesses did what they did. It’s challenging, but tons of fun. Plus, my lawyer rocks.
RS: We start preparing by having practices once a week after school where we do general run-throughs. By the time we get closer to the trials we have many more practices; the most [practices we ever had] was a couple weeks ago when we met every day. We have full team meetings [in addition to] smaller lawyer/witness groups. Lawyers write up their spiels and witnesses practice by being verbally assaulted and accussed.

What mock trial events are coming up in the future?

MR: Well, the Miller team is moving onto playoffs, and I think their first trial in on Monday. My team is done for the season, but we’ll be starting back up with our general awesomeness in the fall.
RS: A few more weeks of these practices and we will be well prepared for our first trial of the playoff season, which is by elimination, meaning a win gets you to the next round, and a loss means you’re out.