After months of preparing for the case, practicing curveball questions, and memorizing opening and closing statements, competition day finally comes for Davie’s Mock Trial team. Sydney Hayes, a senior and member of the team for three years, describes the experience as being much like a school day, waking up and getting ready before taking the hour-long ride to the courthouse and feeling the nerves and panic swell.
“But once you get in there, and you’re actually going against another team and you assess it, it’s all about the groove,” Hayes says. “When you’re confident and you practice and you do it right, it is just an amazing feeling.”
The Davie High School Mock Trial team has a 13-year legacy of strong student speakers and fierce advocates of the law. This year’s team is no exception as 15 bright students competed with pride, confidence, and knowledge at Regionals last weekend. After marching through both preliminary rounds with no split ballots (meaning they earned the votes of all six judges), the team walked away from the day winning second place overall and netting a number of individual awards in the process.
Reaching a milestone like this one takes a lot of work throughout the year. Though their regional competition is not until February of each year, the team begins holding twice-weekly practices as early as September to make themselves competition-ready.
The team is asked to present the best defense and prosecution of a fictional case that changes every season. At the competition, the team faces off against other schools, alternating between playing the prosecution and the plaintiff, to present the best case. Each member has an important role to play, whether it’s a witness, a lawyer, or even a courtroom artist.
Team Captain and senior Kaylee Lewis plays a big role as a positive role model on the team. ”I strive to set a standard of being at practice all the time,” Lewis says. “Always being prepared, and being able to help other people on the team.”
Tani Caudle and Renee Lamb, Mock Trial coaches and English teachers at the high school, also play an essential role in guiding the team to success. Caudle, who coached the team solo for a number of years, emphasizes the time the team spends working on fine-tuning all the details of speaking effectively.
“We work hard on speaking ability,” Caudle says. ”Enunciation, volume, varying vocal tone, professionalism. In practice, you might hear me say things like, ‘I want you to talk like a big-mouthed bullfrog!’ ‘Over-articulate!’”
Caudle also pushes her team to project confidence in the courtroom, even if they don’t always feel it. It’s that confidence, she argues, that earns the team their points.
The group has a history of local lawyers stepping up to serve as legal mentors, advising the team on how to understand the protocols of the courts, set up direct examination and cross-examination questions, object to other’s questions, and respond to objections. Wendy Terry and Judge Carlton Terry have mentored the team over the last seven years.
With the help of these coaches and legal mentors, the team took home the following individual awards at the Hickory Regionals last weekend:
Round One (Defense) Awards:
- Best Attorney: Sydney Hayes
- Star Witness: Noah Harper
- Star Attorney: Ellie Addison
Round Two (Plaintiff) Awards:
- Best Attorney: Kaylee Lewis
- Best Witness: Grady Phillips
- Star Witness: Grady Phillips
- Star Attorney: Ellie Addison
Finals (Defense) Awards
- Best Witness: Grady Phillips
- Star Witness: Noah Harper
- Star Attorney: Sydney Hayes
In addition to these awards, junior Ariana Fletcher took home 1st place as Courtroom Artist, qualifying for the State competition.
After the competition is all said and done, members are left with a love of law. For seniors like Lewis and Hayes, their time with the team has further solidified their future career paths. Through her time with the team, Lewis has not only been able to intern at the Henry, Terry, Mitchell Law Firm, but she also now sees herself pursuing a career as a defense attorney. Meanwhile, Hayes hopes to find herself working as an environmental or criminal defense lawyer.
This year’s Mock Trail team continued the legacy of excellence in public speaking, teamwork, and understanding of the law through countless hours of practice with coaches and legal mentors alike. Many members are not only left with the pride of hard work but also a better understanding of their future and a passion for law.
