Riverside & Ellwood Students Lead Mock Trial Boot Camp

On Wednesday, December 7th, Wilmington Area School District hosted a Mock Trial Boot Camp led by students from Riverside Beaver County and Lincoln High School.

Over 30 high school students from the three schools participated in the training.

Following a brief introduction that outlined the difference between civil and criminal cases as well as proper court protocol, participants rotated among five stations to learn elements of Mock Trial. The elements included Opening Statement, Direct Examination, Cross Examination, Closing Argument, Objections and Improper Questioning. The stations were taught by Riverside students Liz Frazer, Emma Metravich, and Patrick O’Leary, as well as Lincoln High School students Drake Davis, Ava Robbins, and Ciara Paniagua.

Following the training, participants were given a civil case and had thirty minutes to prepare. The case was tried with students playing the roles of witnesses and attorneys for either Plaintiff or Defense sides.

The score of 67/70 earned two students a first place: Justy Brown and Mac Messer, both from Grove City, tied for highest score. Both delivered the Closing Arguments for their side. Second highest score of 59/70 was achieved by Jenna Moore from Lakeview, who performed the role of a direct examination for the Plaintiff. Third highest score was earned by Cydney Devereaux from Lakeview, with a 58/70. She performed the role of direct examination for the Plaintiff side. Overall combined score of the Plaintiff side was 440, with the combined score of the Defense totally 407.

Most of the students attending Thursday are participating in the PA Bar Association Mock Trial competition. The case was released about a month ago, and students are currently analyzing the case and preparing for the challenging event. Ellwood and Riverside participate with a combined team and will compete at the Beaver County Courthouse in mid-January, after two years competing virtually.