Mock Trial season begins at South when the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) releases a real-world inspired “case” for students to explore and learn about law. According to ISBA, in the previous season, 50 schools participated in this program. ISBA engages students interested in law to experience what lawyers do and how they work with everyone in the courtroom.
The team for Mock Trial is centered around how the law works and cases related to real life cases, Gwen Quigley, English Teacher and Mock Trial Co-Sponsor, said. Mock trials are a great way to pursue an interest in law, Quigley said. Whether or not you choose to pursue law in the future, it can still be beneficial for many skills like public speaking, Quigley explained.
“The legal system is designed to seem really complicated, but that shouldn’t deter people from feeling like they can understand legal concepts, understand trials, [or] understand cases,” Quigley said. “Everybody is better off if they can move through the world with a solid understanding of how the law works and how to advocate [for themselves].”
The team restarted at South in 2019, when David Kane, Social Studies teacher, started having “mock trials” in his civics class. Many students quickly became interested and asked him if he would sponsor a Mock Trial team, which he was the sponsor of years ago, Jeannie Logan, Social Studies Intructional Supervisor and Mock Trial Co-Sponsor said. Both Logan and Kane were the original sponsors of mock trial, Logan said. The timing was perfect as Quigley was able to become a co-sponsor because she had previous experience from coaching a Mock Trial team at Niles West High School, Logan added.
“We have other public speaking events [at South], but I think mock trial is unique and uses a different skill set,” Logan said. “We felt like it was a [club] that a lot of students in our school would be interested in and would thrive in, so we were able to get [the team] going.”
In a mock trial, there are three lawyers on one team who work together and try to win the case, senior Alex Lukas explained. When trying to make a point to win a case, you are never alone in a court where everybody there is fighting for the opposite cause, Lucas said.
“You have a team behind you supporting you, and that’s kind of a cool part of it,” Lukas said.
There are a lot of things Mock Trial participants need to do to prepare for their trial, like learning all the details for a case, writing scripts for parts in the case, and memorizing their scripts, Logan said
“Even with all that work that takes place the students are working together as a team, and you really get a sense of that team camaraderie,” Logan said.
