Providing a sense of the close competition between MVHS and WGHS, defense lawyer senior Christie Lin revealed that the MVHS defense lost by a margin of nine points. The five judges’ score sheets revealed a final score of 406-397 with both teams tying 85-85 in cross examinations, but WGHS surpassing MVHS in direct witness examinations 184-170. The remainder of the points were based on opening statements, closing statements and the team’s overall performance including courtroom etiquette and projection.
“We were all a tiny bit disappointed with the outcome on Thursday night,” said defense lawyer sophomore Nicole Pinto. “But we’re also proud of the fact that we came so far — further than any MVHS Mock Trial team has come in a while. It’s not always about winning. It’s also about learning from the trial and training harder as a team especially when some of the other schools in the competition have had so much history.”
Since school resumed last August, MVMT members have committed to over 10 hours a week for team practice and bonding. On most Tuesday and Thursday evenings leading up to the preliminary rounds, the team members congregated in rooms C208 and C209, actively taking study notes on their laptops as the coaches covered lessons on topics ranging from the proof of burden to physical evidence and cross examination.
During the training sessions, head coach Jim Torre also emphasized the importance of close case study. This strategy was meant to alert the team about nuances and argument points that both the prosecution and the defense must address during the pre-trial motion and ensuing trial.
According to Pinto, this year’s case — a fictional scenario involving alleged high school hit-and-run felon Adrian Vega — was more complicated than it may appear. The case required meticulous attention to First Amendment rights, Miranda warnings, police interrogations and several other correlating cases and court decisions needed for the defense to argue the innocence of the defendant.
Lin, who has been on the team since her freshman year, agrees with Torre’s study approach which, according to her, is more organized and professional compared to the amateur recreational practices the team ran before the new coaching staff was appointed in November 2010.
“Many times, a team’s ability to adequately fulfill the proof of burden depends on how well the council and cross examiners can apply established laws and court decisions to prove its approach,” Lin said. “I think my team fought hard at finals, but we’ve read the judges’ scores and comments and know exactly where we need to improve.”
Although the trial season is now over, MVMT has received personal feedback from professional attorneys who themselves have coached high school Mock Trial in the past. Speaking on behalf of the scoring panel and the Santa Clara County Office of Education, Deputy District Attorney Johnny Gogo was appreciative of how well the MVHS defense and WGHS prosecution knew the case and were able to carry themselves during the final trial.
Looking forward to the upcoming competition season later this fall, MVMT is gearing toward weeks of rehearsals and internal scrimmages to keep exercising their legal brains. At the rate at which the team is progressing, a win in next year’s finals could qualify the team for States in the fall of 2014. Though the team is slightly concerned that three strong lawyers, seniors Kevin Guo, Sean Lee and Lin will be graduating this year, it remains hopeful with the upcoming member recruitment effort.
“The best part is knowing that I still have two more years on this team,” Pinto said. “We are definitely going to face challenges since we will have an entirely new team to train after seven of our seniors graduate this year, but I’m sure we’re going to have a new team that is equally talented.”
On Monday, Mar. 4 at 6:51 P.M., a correction was made. Senior Christie Lin is a defense lawyer for Monta Vista Mock Trial, not a prosecution lawyer.
