Published Monday, November 26, 2007 8:51 PM
Updated Monday, January 28, 2008 10:19 PM

 

Marrington students win mock trial competition

Marrington Middle School students recently earned their second opportunity to compete in the South Carolina State mock trial competition in December.

MMS captured the Lowcountry regional title with a team consisting of sixth through eighth grade students - nine of which return from last year's team.

The school competed against five other teams for the regional title in Beaufort County.

In Beaufort, MMS sixth grader Ryan Garner won the title of "Most Effective Witness" and students Edith Amponsah and Shelby Droze won titles for "Most Effective Attorney."

Karen Morrison has been an English and Language Arts teacher for 27 years and the team's lead coach for the three years she has taught at Marrington.

"I was very excited about (the regional title)," she said. "I love my kids this year.

"I'm so proud of them."

In mock trial competition, students are assigned roles such as attorney, defendant and plaintiff.

Each team is given identical fictional cases to study for affidavits, the roles that will be played and questions that will be presented during the trial.  

The same case will be used in the state competition.

Curriculum taught in mock trial classes and performed in competitions correlates to the state standards for Law Related Education and is conducted, as it would be during a real trial, Morrison said.

"It's the real deal," she said. "It's a lot of fun and educational to boot. "It's just so exciting to see their little minds going and figuring out things."

Students have been practicing three days a week since the beginning of September. They performed a dress rehearsal for their fellow students before the regional competition.

They will continue to practice for the state competition, which will be held Dec. 1 at the Marc Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington County.

"We have a real good chance at winning state this year, I think," Morrison said. " We tell them to have fun. We want them to

enjoy it."

But the competition is hard work as well. It requires a good deal of studying, and each student must know the information that he or she must present to the court or use to contradict the opposing team.

Good listening and thinking skills are essential in order to recognize any errors.

Students must be able to think of how the opposing team will perform, Morrison said.  

Five teams from regions north and northeast of the Lowcountry area will be competing, among them Hand Middle School

and Bob Jones Junior High.

"We go up against some stiff competition at state," Morrison said.

But Morrison and her students said that they are not nervous.

"I think they're anxious," she said. "They're chomping at the bit. They're ready."

Essence Jennings is an eighth grader at MMS and a witness for the defendant. "[We will be] excellent," she said. "We're going

to win, no doubt."

Fellow eighth grader and witness for the plaintiff, Sierra Goodman agreed.

"We will not feel discombobulated [in comparison to last year's state competition]," she said. "We don't need to change anything."

Teamwork is an important part of the competition and students constantly encourage and critique one another with kindness.

"They're just a very upbeat, positive, optimistic group of kids," Morrison said. "We're just one big happy family."

Michelle Suggs and Cassie Winslow, two attorney coaches that volunteer their time to help with every practice and spend their own money to provide snacks for the students, also accompany the team.

"They have been invaluable," Morrison said. "We couldn't have done it without them. [They are] just helping others and seeing kids becoming passionate about the legal system."

Parents also play a significant role in these students' lives and are extremely supportive, Morrison said.

"I've never seen anything like it," she said "These are some of the greatest kids I've ever known.

"[They are] some of the best students I've ever had ... just really sharp. Not just the mock trial team, but the eighth graders.

"It's wonderful and I attribute most of that to parent involvement. The parents are involved in their children's lives."

Team members said they enjoy participating in the mock trial competition and that the experience has influenced many of them

to strive to be attorneys.

"I've heard from numerous parents [that] during dinner [the kids] will say 'Objection!'" Morrison said.  

The mock trial team is open to any student, but students are asked to tryout by performing a closing scene from a movie.

MMS mock trial team members include Edith Amponsah, Marina Connor, Kendall Cosey, Shelby Droze, Ryan Garner, Sierra

Goodman, Jordan Grube, Nikki Hillis, Essence Jennings, Austin Mackey, Danielle Masse, Ashelyn Pindell, Jordan Ross, Asia

Smith, Bria Sykes, Jorgey Wethington, Alex Young and Aalayah Williams.