<p>Tell me everything about this extracurricular.</p>
<p>I've participated in mock trial for my entire high school career thus far, but this demand is a little too intense for me. You don't have any specific questions at all?</p>
<p>What are the demands? Time commitment? Does it vary from team to team?</p>
<p>What is enjoyable, what did you dislike?</p>
<p>I have looked at the national website, but am not entirely clear on what the whole experience is like.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Mock Trial is one of the best extracurriculars that you could participate in. In mock trial, you are given a case that you have to essentially "act out." This case usually varies between a civil and a criminal case depending on the year. Currently, my state is doing a civil case. Typically, two different schools go up against each other, one being the plaintiff / prosecution, and the other being the defense. A mock trial team for a school however has both sides on it. </p>
<p>Each side has two attorneys and three witnesses. The witnesses are given affidavits (statements) which they must abide by while the attorneys ask them questions in a direct examination. The opposing attorneys then ask the witnesses questions in a cross examination in an attempt to prove them wrong or prove them to be poor witnesses. </p>
<p>There is a lot involved with this. The attorneys have the most amount of work. They have to write direct examinations, cross examinations, opening statements, and closing statements depending on what exactly each attorney will be doing. There are also many rules and legal ideas that you should be familiar with that are usually given in the mock trial workbook. Witnesses also have to be very committed because the team is graded as a whole, not just one person. Last year in one of my trials, an attorney was given a perfect 10, but her team still lost because of the witnesses. Each witness has to be extremely familiar with their individual statement, as well as the facts of the case and other statements. You also have to portray the witness with a particular personality, as you essentially are that person. My school practices once a week for two hours, and we also have extra sessions on the weekends which can last for the entire day. Mock trial involves a lot of commitment from everyone on the team, so be prepared to do a bit of work if you do become involved. </p>
<p>I'm currently a junior, and I have been involved in mock trial since freshman year. Freshman year, I played one witness on the defense. Sophomore year, I played two witnesses, one on each side, because my team only had 9 people on it. This was somewhat difficult because in the early stages of competition, I had trials back to back which became extremely tiring. Currently, I am an attorney for the plaintiff and am actually working on one of my direct examinations right now. My team advanced to the county semi-finals last year, which we were very proud of as we were the first team to do so in a long time. Mock trial is my favorite activity and I would recommend it to anyone who even has the slightest interest, as long as they remain dedicated.</p>
<p>Mock trial is essentially a sport, just not an athletic one. It is a competition that is extremely intense, and unlike many sports, you are practically given only one chance to do your best. In the earlier rounds, your team as a whole is given two chances, but most people only participate in one trial. Later rounds only involve one trial, and that's it. So be prepared to do some work for it, but really mock trial is excellent and it will really pay off if you are dedicated to it. If you have any other questions, please ask them on here or you can PM me.</p>
<p>I love mock trial and I would agree with most of Atawallpa's comments, which cover the gist of it very well. It is indeed a lot of work. You have to be serious and dedicated. However, you're likely to have a lot of fun (depends on your teammates, I guess) since it really promotes a lot of teamwork and friendly debate about strategies. It really is a team activity; everyone's success depends on each individual person's success.</p>
<p>thanks everyone for your impressions.
it does sound like a great ec.</p>