More than 200 Arkansas high school students spent Friday and Saturday in two Little Rock courthouses arguing whether a fictional high school student should be convicted of aggravated assault.
The Arkansas Bar Association’s High School Mock Trial Competition - which pitted 30 teams against each other in three separate trials - was the culmination of months of work by the students learning debate, public speaking and confidence.
Instead of rendering a verdict at the event, judges critiqued the teams’ performances and offered constructive feedback.
The trial centered on Corey Stafford, a fictional defendant. In the scenario, Stafford was charged with aggravated assault after he accompanied his best friend, Peyton Finnegan, to a high school graduation party where Finnegan eventually pulled a knife on a party guest.
The fictional crime was committed using Stafford’s knife while he filmed the assault as it occurred.
Students participated in teams of six to nine people, filling the roles of timekeeper, attorneys, witnesses and the defendant.
The event offered students more than just knowledge of the legal world.
“You become more confident in yourself,” said Parkview High School senior Claire Frueauff, who was the opening-statement prosecutor and also played the fictional defendant later on the defense side.
Frueauff, who has participated in the mock trial program since her sophomore year of high school, wants to be an attorney. Her college decision, she said, will depend on whether the university has a mock trial program.
“Mock trial is literally my life,” she said.
Katy Kincannon, a Parkview High School sophomore who portrayed Finnegan, said the program has improved her public-speaking skills.
Kincannon said the competition was fun and re-warding after four months of preparation that included practicing each Sunday, then twice a week as the competition approached.
The Parkview High School team, which recently competed at mock trials in Dallas and New York City, practices during class as part of its debate curriculum.
On the other side of the courtroom were students from Mount St. Mary Academy, most of whom participated for the first time.
Both teams cited various rules and procedures throughout the trial, and they raised numerous objections.
Professional attorneys who judged the competition told both teams that they did “excellent” jobs arguing their cases.
“It’s joyful. There have been some students on the team who literally found their voice,” Parkview High School debate and oral communications teacher Patricia Treadway said.
She said students often are timid when they first begin to practice their speaking and arguments.
“Then they become these beautiful speakers,” Treadway said.
Parkview High School, split into two teams for the event, saw both groups advance to the final round Saturday evening. The high school’s senior blue team won the competition over the school’s junior and sophomore red team.
The senior blue team will represent Arkansas at the national Mock Trial Competition in Madison, Wis., from May 9-10.
The Parkview High School senior team consisted of Colin Boyd, Hannah Burdette, Frueauff, Melody Garrett, Luke Kim, Deborah Rookey, Ramzee Williams and Melissa Vachon.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 02/23/2014