West students have their own courtroom
January 26, 2017
The Mock Trial team at NCWHS is a club that collaborates on a legal case and competes against other schools from around the state. Any student may join Mock Trial which is run by Mr. Bierbaum and Mrs. Wiist.
Every year, the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) issues a Mock Trial case sometime around Halloween. The teachers put together a team, read over the case, have tryouts for parts, and then begin constructing their theory of the case, direct/cross questions, opening and closing, and other aspects of the trial process.
Mock Trial operates just like a courtroom- albeit on a high school level- with a prosecution, defense, judge, and a jury. The practicing attorneys, judges, and evaluators from the ISBA score each trial.
The team meets Tuesdays and Thursdays of every week. Their time slot runs from 3:45pm until 5:30pm on a regular schedule.
“Mock Trial is all about presenting a court case against other teams across the state in a highly competitive way while having fun in the process,” stated one of the coaches, Mr. Bierbaum.
Mock Trial is a highly competitive club that travels around the state. This upcoming weekend, the team is going to Skokie, IL. The students will compete with schools mainly from the Chicago area.
“I am the lead defense attorney on the Mock Trial team. It is a lot of fun, I encourage anyone who wants to go into law to join. It shows really demonstrates how an actual court case may run,” stated Meredith Jackson (12).
The program was established here by Mrs. Freeman, a social studies teacher. This opportunity is still around due to the fact students keep coming back. This is a challenging club but well worth the experience and time according to the students and teachers involved.
“I like the fact that it gets students to critically think, get up and present their parts in front of many other people in a competitive setting, and provides an inside look at how the legal process works,” said Mr. Bierbaum.
This club would be an opportunity for students to receive a glimpse into the world of law practice. Not only is it a way to get introduced to the legal field but, you can also meet new people from the school by being involved.