Java Joe’s hosts MHS mock trial

Java Joe’s, a place where people usually go to enjoy coffee, was transformed into a quasi-courthouse Saturday afternoon when Marianas High School students held its mock trial inside the Dandan coffee shop.

Twenty-two MHS students from grades 10 to 12 invaded the shop for their Advance Placement World History class activity.

MHS teacher and coordinator Charles Algaier, who led the students in the activity, said he thought of holding the mock trial at the coffee shop since the event was all about “coffee trials” during the 19th century America.

Algaier said it was a great experience for his class to hold the mock trials outside the four corners of his classroom.

He added that he was gratified with the coffee shop owner for allowing them to use the venue for free in the middle of its business operations last Saturday.

“Java Joe’s has been very supportive of us,” he said.

Java Joe’s owner Rick Jones said allowing the students to hold the activity in his coffee shop was his way of returning the favor to the students and their faculty members who usually stay and hang out in the coffee shop for a cuppa during their spare time. He said the activity did not interrupt business operations at that time.

MHS, one of the largest high schools in the CNMI, also has the largest AP World History classes. Algaier said the school currently has nine AP World History classes this school year.

The class also had newly installed Attorney General Matthew Gregory take part in the mock trial. Gregory took the witness stand during the activity and portrayed the role of Dr. William Harvey.

Jones also took the witness stand, taking on a role very close to him, as owner of “Green Dragon,” another tavern-type coffeehouse in the 19th century.

The trial tackled issues about how coffee changed the course of history, said Algaier. He said the mock trial attempted to relive and re-discuss the issue on how coffee was regarded as a threat and a disruption in the economic order and traditional pattern at that time.

The trial also tried to give light why coffee taverns were labeled as places where insurgents allegedly convened to discuss plans to overthrow the government during the era.

The class had three lawyers in the defense and prosecution and five witnesses on the stand, including Thomas Jefferson and Louis XIV, among others.