A team of Pius X student have qualified for the Mock Trial Regional Final Competition. The event will be held at 4:30 pm, Tuesday at the Lancaster Country Courthouse. Pius X had three teams this season. The qualifying team consists of Isaac Baehr, Gabriel Callahan, Cole Coash, Kaitlyn Giles, Jaxson Hanks, James Kruger, Meradeth Pachunka and Noah Russell.
Regional winners advance to the state Mock Trial competition in Lincoln, Dec. 7-8.
More about Mock Trial, from the Nebraska State Bar Foundation (website):
Each year a fictional case packet is written by a group of volunteers. The case alternates between a civil and a criminal case each year. Teams put together both a prosecution/plaintiff case and a defense case.
Student Attorneys learn how to be attorneys for both sides, to develop direct and cross examinations of witnesses, how to put together opening statements and closing arguments, techniques to make and respond to objections, to understand and utilize the rules of evidence that govern trials, methods of using exhibits in their presentation of the evidence, to appreciate the importance of courtroom decorum, how to develop a case strategy and theme, and enhance trial skills.
Student Witnesses learn to create their character consistent with the case file and their deposition or affidavit, how to respond to questions on direct and cross examination, to understand how to present themselves as the character while maintaining courtroom decorum.
