Personal Narrative: My Mock Trial Experience

This autumn, I represented the School at the Empire Mock Trials in New York, competing against teams from all over the world. This experience helped me to hone my public speaking skills and taught me how to see issues from different perspectives. Furthermore, it deepened my understanding of the workings of the American legal

I found myself, on the fourth day of the camp, standing in front of a mock jury of twelve other students presenting evidence and arguing the facts about a mock case. Something inside me clicked. I loved it, the gathering of evidence, the interpretation of rules and attempting to sway people's opinions, all of it was exactly what I wanted to do. Not just the speaking to a jury, but the entire creation of an argument. It was some of the most fun I had ever had. And walking back to my room, judgement in hand I was determined to do it for

“The next thing I knew I had been tasered by this robocop!” I yell across the courtroom at another high school student. This was certainly something I never expected to say, but Mock Trial has put me into situations outside of my comfort zone many times before. I did not think that being dragged to a Mock Trial meeting by a friend would lead me to something I feel so passionate about, but Mock Trial quickly became my favorite after school activity and a great way for me to explore my love for public speaking. This club let me play both the roles of a frail and cranky old women who had been tasered by a cop and a defense attorney fighting for the future of high school baseball player. Neither of these things is how I envision myself, but it became a great creative outlet for me. During my time in Mock Trial I have been able to attend multiple

I knew I didn't pass my jury the moment I saw Mary's face when I asked to see my score sheets. On each of those goldenrod colored pieces of paper, the phrase Jury Failed: Recommended additional semester of study was checked off. My eyes quickly took in each of those scores; 67, 69, 62, 70. I knew that I was going to end my fall semester with a D in my tuba lessons. How pathetic was that? A D in tuba lessons.

Within the last few weeks one of the places that my W203 went that really stood out was the Industrial Trial that was used to help generate ideas from urban walking. There’s quite a bit to see on the trail but like anything the best parts are closer to the middle. Personally, the one aspect of the trial that really seemed to catch my eye was the old Elwood Haynes car factory because of its Kokomo heritage. However, most of the time I would of just said that the place is a giant scrap yard that needs to be torn down, however, this time around I might think differently.

So when I first got there I had the idea that it was a mock trial. It was not until we start and they started going over the history of the Texas Supreme Court and how they are able to travel thought the state did I realize that the court cases were real. Which, I am glad that they were real cases because that would have been boring if they were mock. So once I got that all right in my head I started to focus on the cases the first one was at some point difficult to follow to quote my friend who’s in high school “I don’t get why everybody is so mad about so ranch there is plenty of it at Walmart at leas that’s what that one dude said”. Now, my friends, he is the class clown, so I knew it was a joke but he did ask me “for real why did he keep

After checking every photo taken during the investigation, the Deputy District Attorney, Michelle Trego asked the detectives to interview the witnesses again. “We want to make certain she pays for this crime,” Michelle said riding up in the elevator with Detective Wallace.

My full name is Samantha Taylor Miller, I am a criminal justice major. I am from Little Falls, New York. I currently live in North Hall with my roommate, who is also my close friend from high school. Although Little Falls is only about thirty minutes from UC, I am glad I chose to live on campus because I have met so many new people as a result of living in the resident's hall.

My trial was hard and brutal. The hardest thing was to see that people, that I didn’t even know, want me dead for something that I am physically not capable of doing. You all know me, and who I really am. Most of you probably don’t care about what I have to say, and most of you don’t care what happens to me, but I know some of you do truly believe me. I was framed, and the evidence even proves that I didn’t do it, but no one believes a black man .I mean how could I choke a strong woman like Mayella, and keep her down to where she can’t get up, with my crippled arm. I would never do such a thing to anyone, and I hope you all know that. This justice system is not fair, and I knew there would be no way out of this mess.

If a young person in your life has been charged with a crime, you're likely dealing with a wealth of unexpected stresses and pressures. A good starting point is to talk with local juvenile attorneys and ask some questions. Kirsten Swanson - Attorney at Law is a juvenile attorney who has been representing clients in the Juneau, Alaska, area for nearly two decades. She understands the stresses and pressures you and your family are probably facing, and she's here to give you the exceptional legal representation you need.

I contacted with Chicago Law Clinic. Then they directed me to the National Immigration Justice Center. I know this place and other alternative places. I called them several times to make a free or reduced rate appointment. I also spoked with many people from different departments of Loyola. Unfortunately, they are busy or providing general help. I know many of their advice. I also know well asylum application process due to my personal research during the absence of an attorney for me. As a result, many free legal services are very limited and don’t provide specific help or advice! As a result, the best solution is to have an attorney. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it now!

I used to be an easy target because I couldn’t speak English. I couldn’t defend myself. My experience explains why I became an attorney for my county’s teen court. Most teenage defendants are there for petty theft, trespassing or damaging private property. I remember a group of middle school kids arrested for trespassing because two of them burglarized the school. The two boys I defended were among the most polite and genuine, virtues that are so scarce in modern times. After the case, the parents of the two boys thanked me for defending their kids and giving their kids the lightest sanctions, and I was touched. It was moments like these that made me feel proud to be a defense attorney. I acted as a voice for these defendants, when everyone

I was asked to create a fundraiser for my Mock Trial club. It may have seemed like a simple enough task: have a yard sale, a chili cook-off, a shoot-a-thon, but I would not settle for such a simplistic, almost menial task. Instead, I wanted to demonstrate the speaking skills, acting skills, and creativity of the Mock Trial members, all while raising funds for our program to help build future lawyers, actors, and speakers. So I spent an entire weekend composing Once Upon a Mystery an audience-participation murder mystery with classic storybook characters as the suspects, seventeen roles weaved together with personalities designed to match the members of Mock Trial. Finally satisfied with the content of the mystery, I presented my manuscript

This realization was accompanied by a another: I would be a criminal defense attorney! Excited by the prospect of my new, glittering future, I set out to join my High School's mock trial team. Two weeks later, when the role results were announced

I love mock trial so much that I have done it for the past three years. I even did it over the summer. As one of California’s top individual mock trial competitors, I competed