Mock Trial
In the modem day student life, the prospect of becoming a lawyer is an attractive one to many. However, its representation on media such as the news or television shows is not always accurate, and does not provide students with a particularly accurate or holistic experience of doing work similar to that of a lawyer's. Thus began the STC Mock Trial club in Term 2 of the 2018-2019 school year.
On Tuesday lunctimes, students from Y7-Y12 gather together to engage in discussions and activities involving a beginner's level courtroom training. Each session, a group of Y12 leaders guide younger years through the basic processes and strategic technique of arguing a court case; they aim to train students to think critically and creatively in the process of tactically persuading a jury or judge to believe their own side.
The primary skill Mock Trial leaders wish to nurture is strategic thinking. A goal-oriented case nearly always has more deliberate thought and depth to it than that of mere extemporaneous speaking. Therefore, the leaders teach these students useful skills such as how to maneuver information to maximize the advantage of its effect, or how to eloquently lead an opponent into verbal self-entrapment, or how to defend one's own credibility while disparaging another's.
Another aspect which the leaders wish to instill in the students is general courtroom knowledge. The procedure Mock Trial follows is mostly the same as that of a real trial. There are opening speeches, direct and cross examinations, closing speeches, and objections. Within the category of objections, there are multiple grounds on which a lawyer can object. This involves learning another string of terminology and the skills to identify suitable situations of using them.
So far, the club has ran three successful trials. The first one involved a case of private entity applications in a court case, and consisted of many technicalities and details which were used to twist each side's case in very contrasting lights. The second and third case were both more focused on specific courtroom strategies, and emphasized the use of many techniques in questioning/examinations.
In the future Mock Trial hopes to further develop shrewdness and layered maneuvers when attempting to influence the presentation of a set of concrete, interpretable case facts. They hope to continue to nurture the skills which are valuable to not only a legal world, but also the overall real world.