Mock trial tests students' court room skills

NEWARK - Noah King and Patrick Miller argued their case in front of Judge Thomas Marcelain in Licking County Common Pleas Court Friday morning.

The two explained to the court that a former governor had been defamed in an inaccurate news report.

But King and Miller aren't actually lawyers, and the case isn't real. King and Miller were two students competing in Ohio Mock Trial's high school competition.

Eight teams from central Ohio, including teams from Granville High School and Northridge High School, participated in the competition.

King and Miller are members of one of two teams from Granville. It was the first year for each of them to participate and Miller, a senior, said the competition is a great way to become familiar with the law.

"I think being a part of it gives you a better perspective about how it works and it’s good to actually know as much as you can about law and how it works," he said. "That’s a part of everybody’s life."

All the teams have one scenario. Half the team is the plaintiffs and the other half the defendants. They argue against teams from other schools. The team that has the plaintiff and the defendant parts of their team score the most points advance to the next level of competition. King and Miller's Granville team did not win, but the other Granville High School team and the team from Pickerington moved on to the regional competition.

King, a junior, said the teams got the case scenario in October and had been practicing at least once a week to get ready. The Ohio Center for Law-Related Education, which runs the mock trial competition, provides teams with a brief on everything teams have to know for the trial and what materials students are allowed to use.

"Even if we had knowledge of other cases, we’re not allowed to bring them in unless the Mock Trial says we can use it in this case," King said.

Licking County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Hoover said he has been a part of the mock trial competitions about half a dozen times and that the kids take it very seriously.

"It’s very impressive and I think all the judges would say that it’s very evident that all teams from all schools have put considerable effort and labor into this competition," he said.

mdevito@gannett.com

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Twitter: @MariaDeVito13