MCS holds 1st Annual Mock Trial Invitational

Superior Court Associate Joseph Camacho presided over the two rounds for Mount Carmel School’s first annual Mock Trial Invitational. (Contributed Photos)

Last Jan. 26, Mount Carmel School held its first Mock Trial Invitational Competition. Marianas High School’s Junior Varsity team competed twice against Mount Carmel School’s JV Mock Trial team in two rounds presided over by Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho.

Camacho enjoyed the idea of having invitational competitions outside of the regular annual competitions.

“This invitational is a great opportunity for students to experience mock trial without so much at stake. It allows the students to understand clearly the role of the court, the attorneys, and witnesses before going into the actual competition,” Camacho said. “I’ve always been a big supporter of mock trial, and I am more than happy to help in, hopefully, more invitationals to come!”

The MHS students also had a great experience competing against MCS in a positive and fun environment.

Jarwyn, an MHS freshmen, said, “[The invitational] was fun because it didn’t feel like a competition.”

Another freshman, Vivien Liu, added that it wasn’t a competition but “a chance to learn more about mock trial and apply what I’ve learned for future competitions.”

Similar to what Camacho said, the students agreed that invitational competitions should be held more often to help students become comfortable with mock trial competitions.

One member of the MHS team, Juliet Innocencio, stated that “the invitational competition today was very welcoming and it wasn’t so stressful as it would have been in actual competitions. I think we should do more of these so that students like me can experience mock trial without so much at stake.”

Overall, both teams had a great experience to learn more about mock trial and apply the skills that they learned to improve. The invitational competition gave students a chance to have a friendly competition as well as welcoming other students into the mock trial world.

School president and teacher coach for MCS, Deleon Guerrero, said that the school is committed to holding the invitational again next school year.

“This was a great experience that emphasized the learning aspect of mock trial and promoted a growth mindset among our students, so we definitely will do this again.”

The case used for the invitational was the 2018 CNMI mock trial case, CNMI vs. Lou Perez, which dealt with criminal charges filed against Perez, a legal proprietor of medical marijuana, who shot and injured an officer during a raid on his home. The school decided to use that case since many current mock trial competitors are familiar with the case because of their work on it last year. Also, the competition used the CNMI Mock Trial Competition Rules and the National High School Mock Trial Competition Federal Rules of Evidence.

Ramirez wrote this article for Mount Carmel School’s Introduction Media Communications Course.

Mount Carmel School student Fiona Bucalig (right) engages in an objection battle with Marinas High School student Vivien Liu at Mount Carmel School’s first annual Mock Trial Invitational.

Marianas High School mock trial teacher coach Don Cohen (left) and Mount Carmel School president and teacher coach Galvin Deleon Guerrero pass out certificates of participation at Mount Carmel School’s first annual Mock Trial Invitational

Marianas High School and Mount Carmel School mock trial students and their coaches gather together for a group photo with Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph Camacho after Mount Carmel School’s 1st Annual Mock Trial Invitational.