“Someone was the Grinch. You had to pick up like a villain and be like you’re on the witness stand.” What type of club is this quote referring to? Mock Trial club of course. The Mock Trial club is a program in which students receive a case at the beginning of the season and use it to emulate a real trial. Students prepare throughout the season in order to go against their opponent and hope to have the best execution of the trial’s case. The new leader of the club Michael Mettenburg describes the process of the club as “understanding how pieces of evidence fit together and how to use them, you know, to defend somebody or like, you know, grill somebody…”

Do you need any background knowledge of law in order to join? No, according to Mettenburg, there is no requirement for prior experience with law. “It’s a great experience for anyone no matter what your background is, like, you don’t have to be super good at math or like super good at reading or super good at writing,” Mettenburg says. All that’s required is a desire to learn and a willingness to branch out to meet other students. One of the club’s most dedicated members, Zoe Smith ’24 recalls a memory of a new student joining, “We’ve had a senior come in and she was a little bit nervous to start, but I think she’s really liking it and… people find their footing, even if they weren’t nervous to start.”

What are the benefits of joining? Mettenberg feels having a sense of community is incredibly important, and that this club achieves that. “Meeting people from different backgrounds and like, you know, becoming a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.” While this club has social benefits it has educational benefits as well. “You go to college or not, you’re gonna have to be able to communicate effectively and mock trial really helps you with that,” Smith says.  “And it helps you know how to like ask good questions and defend your case, even if you aren’t a lawyer, but you’re gonna have to like defend something, whether it’s like a project or something, defend it to a group of people. It’s just great practice for that.” 

What should I do now? If students are interested in the Mock Trial club feel free to reach out to Michael Mettenburg for further details on the meetings and additional information on the club.