The RMHS Mock Trial Team is starting up their season with a competition this week.
RMHS is full of notable clubs, like A World of Difference, Habitat For Humanity, and many others. But one that seems to go unnoticed is the Mock Trial Team. Many are unsure about what the club is all about, and they don’t receive a ton of attention because of that.
As the name suggests, the team competes in a series of competitions against other teams from 32 regions across the state. The teams with the best record from each region moves on in the tournament, where they compete head to head with other regional winners in the courtroom. Teams continue moving through the bracket until only one team is left standing at the end. This team then competes at the national level as Team Massachusetts.
But the team doesn’t go straight into competition. Just like any sport or activity you may do, there’s a ton of work that goes in behind the scenes. Hours of dedication and hard work go into preparing for competition. Club adviser Mr. McSweeney described the workload. “They have a case package that is probably about 85 pages long. So it’s very time consuming. It’s very intellectually demanding.”
Senior Vivian Bateman added on, saying that the team holds additional meetings during flex block in the day, and occasionally before or after school.
The team has high expectations for this year’s campaign. They have some seasoned veterans in Hope Duffy(‘25) and Vivian Bateman(‘25). And they think that they can put it all together this season. Bateman said, “We hope to do well in our three preliminary competitions, and advance to the next round.” Club Advisor Mr. McSweeney added on to that, saying, “Experience is maybe the most important part of Mock Trial because it’s really complicated.”
Although the team doesn’t receive a ton of attention, this doesn’t faze them. Mr. McSweeney said, “I respect the fact that they are working so hard without attention.” Additionally, he added spectators aren’t allowed in the courtrooms during competitions. This is partly because the competition makes use of actual court rooms around the state.
The team has their first competition against North Andover on January 15 in the Middlesex County Superior Court, and we wish them luck in the tough journey ahead of them.
