An anonymous caller informs the police about a suspicious container in a trashcan on the dining patio at Park Lane High School. Detective Rory Riley is called to the scene and confirms that the container is an explosive; the police evacuate the school. Upon further investigation, Riley arrests Park Lane student, Casey Campbell. This incident receives no media coverage, and government authorities are apathetic. It only concerns the Mock Trial team.

The Paly Mock Trial team has a long history as a Santa Clara County Powerhouse along with Lynbrook, Lincoln and Leeland High Schools. The team won state once in 1991 and placed 10th in the State Finals in 2005. This year, they hope to regain the state title.

"Our goal as a team is to win state and compete in the national competition," senior witness Kyle Shulman said. "Every year we at least make it to the semi-finals of our county competition and for the past three years, we have been in the finals of our county competition for one of which, we made it to state."

The team is composed of 20 students split into two teams: prosecution and defense. Students audition for positions as attorneys or witnesses. Both sides have a maximum of four attorneys, one of them reserved for the Pre-Trial. There are three to four predetermined witness roles, and the Prosecution has a clerk and the Defense has a bailiff.

Even with a young team with many rookies, junior Prosecuting Attorney Claire Lesikar is confident about her team’s quality.

"We lost a lot of great attorneys from last year," Lesikar said. "But the team we have this year is also very strong. There are a lot of very bright kids in Mock Trial."

The team receives a fake, but realistic case in late September or early October and works continually throughout the year.

"Before we get close to competition we practice around two times during the school week at lunch or after school and then on Saturdays for three to four hours," Lesikar said. "When we are approaching competition, it gets more intense."

Other than uncountable practices, returning members also strengthen the team.

"I have learned more about objections and courtroom behavior," Lesikar said. "Style is very important for our team – how we hold ourselves, our tone of voice, and how we treat the other teams, each other and the judge."

The Constitutional Rights Foundation [CRF] organizes the entire competition, and according to its website (http://www.crf-usa.org), "the [Mock Trial] program was created to help students acquire a working knowledge of our judicial system, develop analytical abilities and communication skills, and gain an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities as participating members of our society."

Before getting an opportunity to compete in the state championship, the Mock Trial team must win their way to first in the county. First, before the preliminaries begin in early February at the Santa Clara County Superior Court in San Jose, the Pre-Trial hearings take place, in which two attorneys — one for prosecution and one for defense — must determine the bearing of past Supreme Court decisions on their case. The Pre-Trial plays a critical role because it determines if certain information will be part of the trial or not, based on constitutional decisions. After the Pre-Trial, CRF guarantees four trials during preliminary matches. During the official competition, different schools compete against each other; for instance, Paly Prosecution would go against the Lynbrook Defense.

In a Mock Trial competition, winning a guilty or non-guilty verdict does not affect the outcome of the match. Each competition is carefully scored by three professional attorneys, who look at each team’s performance on the Pre-Trial, opening statement, direct and cross-examinations, and closing statement. The lawyers score out of five for each category, although they multiply the scores given to Pre-Trial attorneys by three. The two teams’ total scores are then changed into percentages, and the team with the higher percentage wins.

"The Prosecution contends that Campbell was teased to the point of homicidal frustration while the defense contends that Campbell’s teaser, Sawyer Simpson, planted the bomb to frame Campbell and play a practical joke," Lesikar said.

In addition to the attorneys, there are three to four witnesses for each side, whose performance involves a great deal of memorization and acting.

"One of the harder aspects is that you have to channel that witness’s personality into your testimony and conduct," freshman witness Nicolas Dumas said. "If you come off as being, say, too combative, like I was at the first scrimmage, the facts you present lose some value."

The team had its first informal scrimmage against Tamalpais High School on Dec. 10. Although their performances were not scored by real lawyers, they find such scrimmages to be very helpful.

"I think we did quite well for our first scrimmage," Lesikar said. "We also learned a lot from the Mills Valley team. It’s necessary to just throw ourselves up there to practice before competition – to dust off our shoulders from a summer’s worth of rest."

The students participating in mock trial truly gain what CRF hope for them to achieve, according to Lesikar.

"As an attorney, I feel that Mock Trial is great practice for analyzing information," Lesikar said. "It teaches you to take information presented and manipulate it to your advantage. To be a good team, you have to think outside the box and be creative with how you approach each witness and piece of evidence. Each case is one big puzzle. It’s awesome."

Lastly, strong bonds between teammates add to the honorable value of being part of the team.

"As a freshman who is not on a sports team, I really appreciate the camaraderie," Dumas said. "The people on Mock Trial are a very interesting and smart bunch. It’s really an honor to be part of this group."

"Mock Trial is a real family and every year, as we get closer and closer to competition, the team bonds and we get incredibly close," Shulman said. "In fact, it’s our tradition that after every trial in competition, the twenty of us get together and eat at Chevy’s. During this dinner we reflect back on the highlights of our last competition and enjoy the great Mexican food! Besides Chevy’s we usually get together over the weekends and just hang out. You could say Mock Trial is a community of its own."