Mock trial team wins case, heads to state tournament
The case was fictitious, but the scenario seemed all too real. A teenager who was text messaging while driving lost control of his vehicle and injured one of his passengers in the crash.
As a result, that injured passenger was taking the driver to court to seek a high-dollar settlement.
That was the case Warren County High School mock trial team members had to argue in a recent competition against Mt. Juliet. It’s a trial WCHS won to earn a trip to the state tournament March 14-15 in Nashville.
Aaron Gribble proved to be a capable defense attorney, using help from the police to show the driver wasn’t at fault.
‘The cop at the scene said he wasn’t speeding,’ said Gribble. ‘And we showed the street was wet from the sprinkler system of a nearby golf course.’
Those served as mitigating circumstances, along with testimony from a physician, who said the victim should not be hampered in pursuing her career.
‘She wanted to be a cartoonist and she said couldn’t do that because of a broken leg,’ said defense lawyer T.J. Cantrell. ‘We got the doctor to say that wouldn’t be the case and that she was exaggerating her injuries.’
WCHS students successfully exonerated the driver of responsibility while they were defense attorneys. When the case was flipped and WCHS students were working for the plaintiff, they also came out on top and secured an injury settlement.
Rebekah Dorris showed she could follow in the footsteps of her father, local attorney Dick Dorris, as she was effective working for the plaintiff.
‘On cross examination, I got the doctor to talk about the rods and pins that were put in her leg and that helped,’ said Dorris.
School sponsor Darrell Austin said the team wasn’t too prepared until the final week, which is when everyone came together to polish their arguments. Team members were given the case in November so they had several months to prepare.
‘I was really pleased with how everybody performed,’ said Austin, who indicated the team practices twice a week at Warren County Courthouse. ‘We still have some work to do before state because that’s a different level.’
The same case will be argued on the state level. Usually about 20 teams are involved in state competition.