Xinyi Li
Hours of debate and dedication shown by the Mock Trial Team has finally paid off! After claiming victory in the early rounds of The Los Angeles Mock Trial Competition, the team is ready to take off and win the tournament. Before getting into the upcoming debates, let's take a look at the early rounds. The first round was performed by the prosecution team. The witnesses were new to such competitions and stumbled during direct examination, but when they were ready, the team was back on track. William Dai explained his thought process, “During cross examination, I was so nervous, but I slowly got used to it.” Celina Tham received a great score for her presentation. Tabitha Han presented many objections and earned many points in cross examination. “There were many moments when I didn’t know what to do next,” she said. “But we won, so that’s pretty nice.”
While Keifer Phan
delivered an opening statement which granted the team a few dozen more points. Lastly, Xinyi Li finished it off with the closing statement that received a full score while earning MVP of the fight.The second round took place a few days later. This time, the defense team was up. Julien Collet exceeded expectations with his closing statement, receiving 56 points out of 60. While Owen Pierre, the witness who was playing as the defendant, earned MVP for his performance. Both teams won, but the team believes it was very close. Adam Li, an attorney for the defense said, “I didn’t think we’d make it!” After celebrating their victory with a box of donuts, the team had a bigger challenge to face - Play-Offs. Currently in the top ten, the HMS mock trial team is ready to compete for a position in quarterfinals. But it won’t be that easy, the opposing teams only get stronger further into the tournament, and the HMS mock trial team may not be able to keep up.