Being well into February, the Chaminade Mock Trial Team has already braved one competition and is hastily working hard to be prepared for their next competition. Mock Trial is a club where Chaminade students simulate being a part of an actual court trial by having students act as attorneys, witnesses, and even timekeepers. This year’s case centers on a fictional set of events involving a sleep-deprived truck driver, C.W. McCall, and an A.I. vehicle corporation called FastCorp. C.W. McCall was going down a Missouri highway when a FastCorp vehicle turned out onto the highway, but C.W. McCall rammed his vehicle into the FastCorp vehicle. Witnesses on both sides, the defendant’s (FastCorp) and the plaintiff’s (C.W. McCall) side, make a case for their side through their witness testimony. Benson Honeydew is called to the stand to use math to prove that C.W. McCall wouldn’t have had time to react to the FastCorp vehicle while Parker Poocherelli examines McCall’s log, proving McCall lied about the amount of sleep he got before the accident. Through the use of cross examination, Chaminade and other teams try to discredit these witnesses by pointing out flaws like Honeydew’s shoddy math and Poocherelli’s intimidation tactics and bias.

On January 23rd, Chaminade’s Red, White, and Blue team all participated in their first competition of the year. Each team gave their best, but ultimately, all of the Chaminade teams lost. On Chaminade White, Quin Piskorowski (’25) was able to get three tens and an eight for his witness performance and on Chaminade Blue, Cormac Ward (’26) got all tens. Additionally, some of the Chaminade teams are still in the running to go to state. Chaminade Red only lost by five points, making them the second best of all the teams that lost, and Chaminade Blue only lost by seven points, which made them the seventh best swept team. I went ahead and interviewed witness Cormac Ward about his thoughts on the last competition. 

What was it like being a witness?

“It’s pretty cool being a witness but it’s a lot of work. I really like putting it all together, though. Once you have all the information down it’s easy to just go out there and be your character. It can be hard at times because you answer questions that don’t feel like you and you’re not really in the role.”

How did you feel about your performance at the last competition?

“Overall, I think I did very well at the competition. I did a good job sharing my story on direct examination, and giving the jury a clear idea of what I bring to the case. I did a really good job of boosting our argument. On cross examination, I was only asked three or four questions, and I didn’t really get a chance to shine in my character.”

What was your favorite moment during the last competition?

“My favorite moment during the last competition was actually getting to participate in the trial. I was a timekeeper last year, so I got to watch a trial but never been part of one. It was really cool this year to finally be in Mock Trial and experience it.”

How do you feel about the next competition?

“I feel ready for the next competition. It was a really quick turn around from last trial to this trial, but I know my witness really well. I have a good way of presenting all the important information for direct examination. I’ve also gotten a lot of chances to prepare my counter defense on cross examination, which will be a little trickier this trial than last time.”