Mr. Bobby Phelps

Members of the mock trial team following the matchup against Rockhurst High School on Jan. 30th. Photos were not allowed during the actual match, to simulate proper courtwarm etiquette. Lead Mock Attorney Hailey Miller feels that the gaps in practice affected being able to polish the techniques of the trial. “I think that the technique and the correct procedures were working against us, because that’s hard to learn, and that’s something that needs to be practiced,” Miller said, “and I think not having those practices really set us back.”

This year, Fort Osage formed its first mock trial team since the 2014-2015 school year. Unfortunately, despite a hard-fought battle, the team did not make it past the local Kansas City competition. The team was started by Senior Hailey Miller, who also took the role of the lead attorney for the team, who feels that despite the loss, the team still tried their hardest.

“I think had we went against a team also at our level of experience we would have won, we received a lot of comments from the judges that we were really good, and we made some good points,” Miller said, “and that’s something to keep our heads up about, considering this was our first year, and hopefully that will help going into next year.”

The team completed a court simulation on Jan. 30th against Rockhurst and on Feb. 1st against Liberty, who both ranked in the top three teams of the local tournament. Mock trial plaintiff attorney Kindra Moore believed that Fort could have won the second match.

“I think that today’s [Feb. 1] round went really well,” Moore said, “We brought up some good points and we definitely had an opportunity to win today.”

Scoring in mock trials works by ballots: Each ballot has a grade for a team, and ballots are submitted by the judge and both members of the jury. Ultimately, Fort Osage won one out of six ballots during both local competitions. Mock trial defense attorney Christopher Brown feels that while there were some flaws, the team still did well during the competition.

“I felt pretty good,” Brown said, “I think I did really well on my questions, my closing statement could’ve been a little better but I think everyone did a really good job.”

The team started practicing in mid-November. Mock trial teams are designed to educate students about the court system, and the roles people play in the courtroom, and increase public speaking and critical thinking skills. Mock trial defense attorney Adelia Spidle was saddened, but still proud of the team.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Spidle said, “I’m sad we didn’t get to regionals, but I thought we did good still.”

The courtroom simulation is held at a real courthouse, the local competition being located in the Eastern Jackson County Courthouse. Regionals were held on Feb. 20 and 22.