On March 3rd, the Saint Stephen’s Mock Trial team traveled to Sarasota to compete in the circuit 12 competition, which includes schools from Manatee, Sarasota, and Desoto counties.

Their performance in each of three rounds was judged by attorney judges, as well as one actual judge, and they won the competition. This isn’t anything new for Saint Stephen’s, as our team has won Circuit and gone to State almost every year.

This Wednesday, there will be a Gauntlet held in their honor in the Palm Courtyard.

Generally speaking, our Mock Trial team doesn’t receive a lot of attention; they work hard under the radar.  Fortunately for you, the Gauntlet is here to provide information on our amazing Mock Trial team.

The unit is made up of seven members: Meg LaFollette (‘20), Sarah Glaser (‘18), Carter Beckstein (‘19), Dylan Zoller (‘20), Olivia Elisha (‘19), Sully Maley (‘21), and Baera Bischoff (‘18) and the squad is coached by Ms. Murphy and attorney coach Jim Delgado.

In October, each member of the team receives a “case packet” that includes information on on a simulation court case. The packet’s have three prosecution witnesses, three defense witnesses, and exhibits that could be used as evidence.

Their task is to cast each member in the role of as either a witness or an attorney and be ready to perform a prosecution or a defense case with little notice. This is a huge task that requires a large amount of memorization and practice, and it is very impressive that our team does so well.

In order to do so well, the team puts in a huge amount of practice and effort. They practice every day from 3:00-5:15 from October until March and sometimes even practice on the weekend or take trips to practice at the courthouse.

Team member Meg LaFollette said that recognition is not the reason they put in all the work: “Every team always forms deep bonds, and we learn much about ourselves and each other likely because of the time spent in practice. The various life skills that we gain through this experience help us all grow as people, and every single person on the team can testify to its impact on their daily lives.”