On Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1, North’s Mock Trial team competed in three rounds against other schools at a courthouse in Gainesville.

Mock Trial is an after-school club for students who want to go into law or just have fun. Just like in a real trial, there are two sides: the plaintiff/prosecution and the defense. The case –which is a revised version of an older real trial– is released in October. The team works together to break it down and put together their arguments. The last few meetings are spent with the defense and plaintiff sides practicing against each other.

The team then moves on to compete against other schools in a real courtroom. They are scored on their performance, including objections and responses for attorneys, and personality and knowledge for witnesses.

“My favorite part is definitely the finished product, so getting to see them compete, seeing what they learned, and how they can think on their feet,” admits Caroline Steinberg, the coach and sponsor for the club.

The first round was North’s plaintiff against an anonymous school’s defense. The round gave the team a lot of confidence going into the next rounds on Feb. 1. Both rounds two and three were suspenseful, with some notable actions being Munn Patel’s self-defense under intense questioning from the opposing team, as well as Kaitlyn Vera’s closing argument, where she turned the plaintiff’s point against them in round two.

Although North did not make it through to regionals, they still performed well, even going against the top teams. Junior Shravya Adiraju and senior Nick Hammond also won Outstanding Attorney and Outstanding Witness awards for the first round, respectively.

“It felt amazing. Just to go up there and essentially be myself, pretending I was somewhere on some fateful night was fun,” comments Hammond, “I honestly think Mock Trial is one of my most favorite teams I’ve been a part of.”