Mock Trial
The verdict is in... the Louisville mock trial team are LA champions
Darcy Mullane '24
Editor-In-Chief of Design
Louisville’s mock trial team has an exceptional legacy. Many current students can recall their 8th grade visit day where they witnessed the mock trial team practice. If you’re like me, it was one of the things that showed you how impressive Louisville students are.
Mock Trial is just as the name states; it is where a team of defense and prosecution attorneys, witnesses and defendants act out a fake, but very realistic case, in a competition between two schools where one school plays the defense and one plays the prosecution. The case has either real judges or attorneys who have been volunteering with the Mock Trial program judging the case.
About 8,000 high schools compete in Mock Trial in California, 84 of which are from Los Angeles, and Louisville placed first among them all.
This year the case follows a murder compared to the story of the hit show “Succession,” but there is not much that can be revealed about the case because it is treated as a real case where details are kept secret until released to the public.
The Louisville Mock trial team would not be as strong as it is without their teacher/coach, Mr. Telesca. Mr. Telesca has played a big part in making the Mock Trial team stand out at Louisville, and he cares for his team as a whole.
At the beginning of the Mock Trial practices, he meets with each attorney to go through all the case materials. Writing statements is a collaborative process where students can learn from Mr. Telesca on how to write like a lawyer and the process behind trials.
Mr. Telesca really emphasizes with the group that they are all part of a working machine and important to the success of the team, so when they have full group rehearsals, Mr. Telesca focuses on the witnesses since he has already spent so much time with the attorneys.
During practice, if someone messes up, Mr. Telesca urges them to stay in character and treat it as if it is the real contest. This helps them prepare, so that if they do mess up during the trial, they can get back on their feet as quickly as possible.
Full team rehearsals are where everyone comes together and Mr. Telesca acts as the judge and stops to give them notes and ideas about what the other team may respond to their claims with.
In talking to some of the Mock trial members, they explained how they have had the ability to get close to people that they would not have gotten close to if they had not joined Mock Trial.
This amazing team has been preparing for months and it is all working in their favor as they are the senior division Los Angeles winners.
In the final round, they went up against Grenada High School at the famous Stanley Mosk courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles. This was a bigger courthouse and every single seat was filled with spectators ready to watch the intense competition. The trial opened with Falon Rushton ’24 playing the pre-trial prosecution attorney. After her impressive opening (that ended with her getting an award from the other team), the prosecution attorneys Ruby Dixon ’24 and Mary Piscatella ’24 took the floor.
The trial consisted of attorneys going back and forth with objections and questions for the witnesses. Audience members were fully engrossed in the trial as if it were an episode of “How to Get Away with Murder.” The prosecution attorneys had to think on their feet as they heard new objections and opinions from the other team. To come up with responses they exchanged notes with each other.
The witnesses were also very professional as they got sworn in on the basis of the mock trial rules. Then, they had to come up with responses to the attorneys on the other team.
After the team finished with the court process, there was an award ceremony where they announced winners for each role, Dixon even won an award in the senior division for best prosecution attorney in the county.
Finally, once the individual awards were announced, they announced the winners of the finals who would be advancing on to State. Everyone was at the edge of their seats as we waited for the announcements. They then finally announced that Louisville won and the Louisville spectators jumped and screamed with joy. The happiness beamed off of every Louisville mock trial member as they went up to receive their medals.
The mock trial team is going to compete in the state competition in March, and the Louisville community couldn’t be more proud.