Whole Person Education - Knox Grammar School

Mock Trial: The Ultimate Law-Related Education ExperienceKnox Grammar School emerged asthe Champions of the NSW LawSociety’s Mock Trial competitionlast December. The competitionwas rigorous and required theteam firstly to get through theround robin competition andthen a knock out competition.The President of the Law Society of NSW,Mary Macken, spoke of ‘the thrill of participatingin a court trial’ when congratulating the teamsfrom Knox and Bega after the NSW state final.Year 12 students, Matt Green, Tom Goldie, Sam Duncan, Matt Yeldham, Mike Crawford, Charlie George and WilliamXi, represented Australia at the American National High School Mock Trial ChampionshipAs a result of this success, the Knox teamrepresented Australia in the National HighSchool Mock Trial Championship (NHSMTC)in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, in May 2011.The NHSMTC is the ultimate law-relatededucation experience for the best andbrightest high school students in theUnited States. The championship provides achallenging opportunity for personal growthand student achievement, while promotingcritical thinking and teamwork skills.The five-day championship was a rigorousweek of advocacy where teams played bothPlaintiff and Defence roles in four preliminaryrounds. During each round, a judge presidedover the trial, while a panel of attorneyevaluators acted as the jury and scoredstudents’ performances. Students wereassessed on their analysis and presentationskills, not on the legal merits of the case.At the conclusion of the preliminary round,the two teams with the best records advancedto the fifth round, the ‘National Championship’or grand final.Involvement at this level in the Mock Trial is asignificant achievement from a talented groupof students, most of whom are consideringLaw as a career.Ms Cecilia BatistaEnglish Teacher and Mock Trial CoordinatorSTOP PRESS - Knox was the first Australianteam to compete at the NHSMTC; theteam won two of its four trials, and SamDuncan received a trophy as one of the tenoutstanding witnesses in the tournament.The team explained...Matt Yeldham – Each member of the teamspecialised in his preferred role. Matt Green,Tom Goldie and I are the attorneys, whileMike Crawford, Sam Duncan, Sean Readingand Charlie George are the witnesses; andWilliam Xi took on both roles. Witnesses haveto be able to handle, often, rigorous crossexaminations,while attorneys have to delivercomplex opening and closing statementscovering all the relevant facts and law.Charlie George – The trial was called D’BahaIndian Tribe v. Intrepid Mining Corporation; theD’Baha tribe was opposed to Intrepid MiningCorporation’s proposed expansion of theiruranium mine, which could have negativeimplications for the D’Baha tribal lands, andmost importantly their sacred waters.Matt Green – In the weeks leading up tothe competition, including throughout theEaster holidays, we had 126 pages of casematerial, which included witness statementsand exhibits, to learn. This was a juggle withschool work and while this may affect ourHSC results, we saw participation in theMock Trial as an incredible opportunity; onewe’ll never have again.William Xi – The competition format inAmerica is different; we had to adapt to acompetition with a larger focus on rhetoric.While the law itself is much the same, itis procedurally very different. There is agreater breadth of technicality along with itssubtleties and niches, but this didn’t mean wechanged how we do mock trial completely;we brought a unique style to the competition!Sam Duncan – Matt Allen was in the originalteam that won the NSW competition, butunfortunately, he was unable to competeoverseas, so I had the privilege of filling inas a Witness. Our coach Tony Iannuzzelli,Ms Batista and the boys were all incrediblyhelpful in showing me the ropes and I hopeI performed well for the team. We went toPhoenix as a strong team, ready to representnot just our school, but also our country.Tom Goldie – Australia has never beforebeen invited to this competition in America,which made this trip an exciting privilege. Asa specialist barrister (attorney) in the team,I loved the presentation and public speakingaspect of the role as well as enjoying the logicexercise involved in grappling with legal issues.Mike Crawford – South Korea was the onlyother international team in the competition,although there were two US territoriescompeting which were well recognised foradvocating sovereignty of American IndianTribes, a key issue being argued in our case.The team always had high performanceexpectations, and our trip to the USA wasno different.Sean Reading – I spent the Easter holidayson an amazing Football tour to Brazil, onethat I will never forget, though it was veryhard to also learn the case materials forMock Trial. It meant that long bus tripsbecame the best opportunities to study.I made the most of the Football tour,returned home for a few days, with loads ofhomework to do, and set out to make themost of the Mock Trial tour to America.The Thistle / June 2011 | 13The Thistle / June 2011 | 13