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It was another stellar year for the Marin Catholic Mock Trial Team as they once again took second place in the County Championship Tournament this month. Over the past 10 years, MC has made it to the finals in county competition four times. Under the leadership of Attorney, Tom McCallister and MC's History and Government teacher, Paul Hamel, the MC team has become one of the most respected Mock Trial Teams in the state of California. They are often approached by teams as far away as Shasta to scrimmage before upcoming tournaments. Next year, the team is planning to host a tournament on the MC Campus.
What is Mock Trial?
Mock trial is a county and state competition where students spend 7 months analyzing a case and presenting a trial in court, adjudicated by actual judges on the Marin County Superior Court. The trials run 2.5-3 hours and are scored by attorneys on the CA Bar Association.
When does the Mock Trial season run and how many students are involved?
The season commences in August and the trial is released by the Constitutional Rights Foundation(CRF) in early September. There are 18 roles. Two pretrial attorneys, 6 lawyers (3 for the prosecution, 3 for the defense), 8 witnesses (again, divided 4 for the prosecution and 4 for the defense), a baliiff and a court clerk.
How often do students meet to prepare for Mock Trial?
The team meets every Thursday evening from 6-8:30pm. In addition, Coach Tom and other coaches meet individually with members of the team outside of these hours. Most team members probably spend well over 150 hours preparing for competition, many close to 200 hours. There are also scheduled scrimmages throughout the season where members of the team compete against other non-MCAL schools to sharpen their skills.
Is there travel involved for the team?
Scrimmages are hosted by schools outside of MCAL. The MC team travels to Davis, Menlo Park, Salinas, Monterey and further.
How does the Mock Trial experience help students after high school?
Typically, Mock Trial and Debate Club are two of the most respected activities that students can present on their college applications. We have had students graduate from MC and head to Princeton, Harvard, Dartmouth, Harvey Mudd, Scripps, Pomoma, Georgetown, Boston College (just to name a few) and other college campuses to compete. Moreover, many of our alumni have served at the DA's office in Marin County as interns. From there, they went on to serve as staffers in several congressional and senate offices.
Congratulations to the 23-2024 Mock Trial Team!
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