The 2023-24 ACS Mock Trial team expanded to include three new high school students playing the roles of witnesses in a case about honest services mail fraud. Gabriella Goodwin (10th grade), Sophia Capito (9th grade) and Yuyu Choi (9th grade) joined our four veteran mock trial team members to represent Atlantic Christian School in the statewide mock trial competition, which is sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. Vera Huff (12th grade), Ryleigh Martin (12th grade), Joshua Kinch (11th grade), and Justin Basso (10th grade) were each cast as attorneys and witnesses. Additionally, we included a group of five bright middle school students who attended practices, served as jurors at our dress rehearsal, and were slated to serve at trial. This season, our jury included Matthew Coates (8th grade), Zy’Rainalyn Rogers (7th grade), Emily Kinch, (7th grade), Julieta Gonzalez (7th grade), and Jennyfer Loiaza-Riveros.
Teacher-coach Mrs. Rhapsody Hahn-Chaney held practices three times weekly since November to help students develop and refine their strategies. Hahn-Chaney was a key player in the state’s mock trial competition when she was in high school. She sees the program as a highly rewarding experience for a teenager to build logic, reasoning, and communication skills. Hahn-Chaney’s sons, Caedyn (9th grade) and Gaebriel (7th grade) assisted team members by standing in as judge and bailiff, and also by serving hot chocolate to students as they worked hard to prepare for the case. Attorney-coach Robin Tolg, a former high school teacher at ACS and the original ACS Mock Trial coach (2003-2004), practices full time as a lawyer. Tolg still kindly supports the ACS Mock Trial team by providing legal insights, guiding lawyers on the process of pre-trial conference, and understanding how to raise and respond to objections.
In October, the state released a federal case where the United States of America brought criminal charges against the defendant, Ellis Kirwin, a former Dean of Admissions of a college called Metropolitan University. This fictional case deals with a range of issues including artificial intelligence, mail fraud, plea deals, and unmonitored cryptocurrency accounts. All participating high schools in New Jersey worked to develop arguments on both sides of this case. Beginning at the county level and eventually leading to state finals, high school teams go to trial at local courthouses before active or retired judges. The winning team from each state will receive a new case in the spring and head to the national level, which is hosted in Delaware this year.
Snowy conditions impacted both the courts and the schools this winter, so the Atlantic County mock trial competition, currently coordinated by Julie Nugent of Fox Rothschild, was pushed back a week. The ACS Mock Trial team proudly fought in two matches, one as the Prosecution and the other as the Defense. Our season concluded on January 30, 2024.
Mock Trial/Debate Club is offered as an elective this semester. A dozen upper school students are currently learning the ins and outs of the legal system and putting critical thinking skills to the test. We are debating a number of topics in class, and will conduct a mini mock trial at the end of the year.
Registration for ACS Mock Trial will open next fall. Students interested in joining the team must register online at https://mocktrial.acseht.org/home.