Outlaws win big in Mock Trial

Two teams from Sisters High School competed in the regional Mock Trial competition on Saturday, March 2, at the Deschutes County Justice Building in Bend. The designated "black" team ended up winning the competition and thereby qualifying for the state competition to be held March 16 at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Court building in Portland.

The winning team members are Katie Stewart, Sarah Dumolt, Shea Krevi, Kennedy Hall, Angela Todd, Nicky Blumm, Riley Barrett, Jacob Heath and Nick Larson.

A second group, designated as the "white" team, consisting of Mary Stewart, Alex Cyrus, Cooper Gould, Dani Rudinsky, Phylicia Landis, Colten Rogers, Emily Christen, Liz Stewart and Jacob Rogers also competed and performed well, but their finishing place has yet to be announced.

The competition takes place in an actual courtroom, with the students facing off against teams from other schools.

The competitors do not know until just before the contest whether they will be performing the role of the prosecution or defense.

There are three rounds of the competition and it is guaranteed that the team will perform both sides of the case.

The rounds are scored by three volunteer judges who serve as the presiding judge and jury.

After the round the judges give the contestants constructive feedback and may indicate whether they found the defendant guilty or not.

Winning or losing the case, however, is not the goal.

The goal is to score points based on how well you play your role.

The hypothetical case the students were dealing with this year was one involving hazing and manslaughter charges against a member of a college honor society.

In the case a student dies as a result of consuming too much water during a pledge week activity known as "Water Jeopardy." The competition calls on students to take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses, as well as the court bailiff and clerk.

They must perform roles for both the prosecution and the defense.

In the role of attorney they have to come up with direct questions for friendly witnesses and cross questions for potentially hostile witnesses.

As witnesses they need to memorize the affidavits of their character(s) and take on that persona in the competition.

Volunteer coaches Darryl Doke and Jerry Hanford were instrumental in the success of both teams. These two attorneys worked with the students a minimum of four days a week for the past 11 weeks during the fifth period of their school day. In the days leading up to the competition they stayed after school and came in on the weekends to ensure that the teams were well prepared.

The coaches and students all agreed that the first two weeks of the program were a tough slog.

"The first two weeks ... is like learning a foreign language," Hanford said.

Once the students get into the meat of the case and are assigned their roles, the process starts to come alive for them.

The level of success surprised the Outlaws litigators.

"We didn't go in with a whole lot of expectation," said Emily Christen. They "ended up having a lot of fun and doing way better than we expected."

According to Riley Barrett, "It just takes confidence in the courtroom," not being intimidated by other teams. That, apparently, was not a problem for Barrett, who earned a reputation for being especially aggressive on cross-examination.

Coach Doke noted that the team really came together in the last week of preparation as adrenaline and a competitive instinct kicked in.

"We can build on that" going into state competition, he told students.

Mock Trial is an elective class at Sisters High School taught by Paul Patton.

Ever the advocate, Hanford emphasized that "this class is one of those that exists because of" local option.

Mock Trial was started as a club activity by Mary Thomas several years ago and was taught last year by Gale Greaney. Last year's team also qualified for state, as have several teams prior to that.

Doke has been coaching the team for five years, and Hanford for three.

Hanford acknowledged that coaching puts him back in the arena.

"It's like the fireman smelling the smoke and ringing the bell," he said.

Doke said, "It's so gratifying to see the growth that happens in front of your eyes."

For his part, Patton notes that, "I can't really say that I taught the class, as my legal expertise is minimal. But I oversaw the class, designing a few activities and assessments to make sure the kids were getting the material, helped out Darryl and Jerry in any way I could, and handled the administrative chores," Patton said. "It's been as great a learning experience for me as it has been for the students."

The students agreed that the program builds critical-thinking skills, enables them to articulate a position effectively, and puts a premium on teamwork and preparation - all skills that will have value for them whether or not they pursue the law any further.

The Mock Trial competition is put on by the Classroom Law Project (www.classroomlaw.org).

In addition to the two Sisters teams, the competition on Saturday was attended by teams from Bend High, Mountain View, Summit, and a home-school group. At the end of the competition the top two teams were announced, with Summit High School finishing second to Sisters and both teams qualifying for state. The placement for the other seven teams competing will soon be posted on the Classroom Law website.