By Clare Booe ’24
Wyoming Seminaary’s Mock Trial Teams, both historically and presently talented, worked through the winter term preparing their arguments for two highly selective invitational tournaments, and of course, the varsity districts tournament. This year, Mock Trial received such and influx of participants that three teams were made: varsity, junior varsity 1, and junior varsity 2.
The varsity team, full of highly experienced and highly talented seniors is still set to compete in the district competition for mock trial, where Wyoming Seminary’s teams have previously excelled, some making it to the state championship.
The Pennsylvania state bar association released this year’s case, and all three teams have been diligently working on it since. This year it was a murder case, involving a business rivalry that turned into violent crime.
This case being criminal and not civil sets it apart vastly from past cases, and with the coaching of Dr. Froelich, Mrs. Stevenson, and Atty. Kowalski, all three teams assembled their casting and cases in different ways.
Ella Magida ‘26, acting co-captain of the B-team, says that a criminal case is, “incredibly different than a civil case. The way it’s performed is much more dramatic and there’s a bigger emphasis on being scored on passion.” Ella is currently in the role of a prosecution attorney, tasked with convicting the defendant of murder in the first degree.
Sadly, Sem’s teams were unable to compete in either invitational tournament. The first tournament was set at LaSalle University and the second invitational was hosted by UPenn.
Several scrimmage brackets have been planned for the end of wenter term, allowing the three teams and both sides of each team (i.e. defense and prosecution) to practice their cases and performances.
First year mock trial team member, Josie Carpenter ‘26, explains how the scrimmages have run this far by saying, “We already had one in house scrimmage, and it was just really cool to see how everyone’s cases came together, and how people on the varsity team perform and act in a courtroom like environment.”
However, these home scrimmages aren’t the only ones to come. The teams will also have a more formal scrimmage against each other at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre, where unlike an invitational tournament, more spectators are able to come support the team. Although this scrimmage’s date is still uncertain, the team knows that it is going to set the varsity team on the track for success leading up to the district and state seasons.
