Court case films and TV shows grip our attention and leave us on the edge of our seats. Mock Trial lets Hackley’s students simulate this riveting experience. On Thursday, March 2nd and Thursday, March 9th Hackley attended a mock trial at the Westchester County Court. A mock reflects its real counterpart with two teams of three student lawyers and six student witnesses (each from the 2 schools participating in the trial).

Seniors Seth Tilliss, Owen Friesen, and Matt Bonanno represented Hackley as the student lawyers against Scarsdale High School. The first mock trial fell immediately after exams which seemed to affect the students’ performances. “The biggest challenge was our lack of preparation due to exams, and none of us were feeling confident going into it,” said senior Matt Bonanno.

Aside from the poor timing (in this case), there are a couple additional challenges that come with mock trial. “The judges objected to a lot of questions and you need to be able to think on your feet, which is actually a really hard thing to do in the moment. Also, the time constraints really got to us at the end which was not ideal,” said senior Seth Tilliss. In the end, their lack of preparation was the leading factor to their less than ideal results.

On the other hand, the second mock trial that Hackley attended went extremely well leading them to advance to the next round. Seniors Alex Meyer, Will Cotter, and Owen Friesen represented Hackley against North Salem High School. Owen Friesen was the only lawyer to attend both trials. “I think we just had a better idea of what to expect going into it since it was the second time, which helped given our previous lack of experience, and our judge was more open to our arguments.” said Owen.

Will Cotter has been participating in the mock trial for 2 years. “Although the first trial went pretty poorly for Hackley, in the second trial we really put up a great case and won fairly easily. I think the lawyers and witnesses were much better prepared this time,” Will commented.

“There’s a lot of intricacies involved in our legal system that you don’t really get to see from the outside that a lot people don’t understand until they study law in college,” said Matt Bonanno “Anyone who wants to learn a little more about our legal system should consider participating in Mock Trial.”