by Solon Walker
The Mock Trial team is now entering its second year after being previously established in 2019 by Talitha Musacchio of Chawanakee Academy and Micheal Matheson. This year, however, Minarets English teacher Mikendra McCoy has also joined to help run the team. Currently, the students are preparing for competitions that will be taking place in January and February, with the hope of making it to state and national finals, and are looking for others to fill out their team.
A mock trial is just what it sounds like- students act out all the roles in a courtroom when trying a case, from attorneys and bailiffs to judges and court artists. They even go so far as to use real court facilities, with the Chawanakee/Minarets team having access to the Madera County Courtroom. While this aspect isn’t currently on the table with COVID, they’ll still be doing as professionals do, using Zoom instead.
One of the cases the team will be trying this year is The People v. Crotty. McCoy described it as a case about “whether or not social media influencers had the power to motivate an individual to break into someone else’s home and steal information that would damage the reputation of the group the influencer represented…”. The case is intended to appeal to the modern generation and is one the team will be sure to try well.
Those interested in joining the team can fill out this form. You’ll be contacted by McCoy or Musacchio in the following days.