Mock Trial Comes Back with a Bang to St. Joes

 

It’s been six years since St. Joseph High School’s Mock Trial Team was in the courtroom. But, on Friday, December 13, 2024, the  recently re-founded Team participated in its first Competition and won both trials. This strong performance qualified the team for Connecticut State Playoffs, beginning on February 7, 2025.

The Case tried was State v. Harkness, a criminal trial alleging that the Defendant, a pizza shop owner, hired a hitman to “take out” his rival who was running the Defendant out of business. The charges included (1) murder as an accessory and (2) conspiracy to commit murder.

 

The Defense’s Trial Recap

The Defense Team was presented by Senior Captain Olivia Szczerba (attorney), Senior Captain Vanessa Theagene (attorney), Senior Ellen Romano (attorney), Senior Aidan Broer (witness); Junior Katelyn Zeni (witness); and Freshman Aria Chiaramonte (witness). 

Ms. Romano set the tone for the Defense Team in her opening statement which cast doubt that the Prosecution would be able to meet its burden of beyond a reasonable doubt. Ms. Romano then conducted the first cross-examination in which she completed an impeachment by prior inconsistent statement in the first minutes to show that the Prosecution’s witness lied under oath and thus could not be trusted by the jury.

Ms. Theagene cross examined the Prosecution’s next witness and uncovered that her biggest reason for testifying for the Prosecution was marred by the witness's perceptive shortcomings which was analogous to Attorney Gambini crossing Mrs. Riley about the thickness of her glasses in My Cousin Vinny (1992).

Finally, Ms. Szczerba completed the last cross examination for the Defense Team and was able to discredit the witness by displaying her bias against the Defendant for the jury while also sustaining objections during the witness’s direct examination and excluding crucial prosecution evidence.

Next, the Defense Team presented their own case and called three witnesses played by Mr. Broer, Ms. Zeni, and Ms. Chiaramonte. All three presented likeable, sympathetic, and believable witnesses and kept their credibility intact by avoiding impeachment.

Ms. Szczerba finished off the trial with her closing statement by picking apart the Prosecution’s case with the admitted evidence to persuade the jury that the Prosecution did not prove the Defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Defense Team beat Achievement First Academy’s Blue Team who proved themselves to be a formidable opponent with a strong understanding of the rules of evidence for attorneys and impeachment avoidance for witnesses.

 

The Prosecution’s Trial Recap

The Prosecution Team was presented by Junior Captain Rhys Ingram (attorney), Senior Zoë McLean (attorney), Junior Jason Wu (attorney), Senior Captain Vanessa Theagene (witness), Junior Abigail Angier (witness), and Junior Catherine Conlon (witness).

Mr. Wu stunned the courtroom with his powerful opening statement to kickoff the trial immediately alerting the jury to the Defendant’s motive for the murder. He walked them through what would be discussed at trial and what would need their attention.

The Prosecution’s case-in-chief was led by their witnesses: Ms. Conlon, Ms. Angier, and Ms. Theagene. Each powerfully testified about the Defendant’s motive and conspiracy to commit the murder of his rival. Each presented as credible and transparent. None were impeached.

Next, fireworks ensued in the Defense’s case-in-chief. Ms. Mclean led the charge with at least four impeachments by inconsistent statements against the defendant leaving the defendant’s credibility with the jury in shambles.

Next, Mr. Ingram flawlessly impeached his witness by inconsistent statement twice while using his vast knowledge of the rules of evidence to sustain multiple objections on direct examination which derailed its substance.

Mr. Wu was the final cross examination. Given the prior impeachments by his co-counsel, Mr. Wu only had one minute to cross his witness. In that one minute, Mr. Wu still impeached the witness by omission in which he showed the witness made something up for the first time on the stand. Mr. Wu also displayed his knowledge of the rule against hearsay by getting a whole line of questions on the direct examination sustained and thereby precluded from entering evidence.

Finally, Mr. Ingram finished the last leg of the trial by making the Closing Argument & Rebuttal in which he argued “the Defense’s argument to you displays their fundamental misunderstanding of this case.” The jury agreed, finding the Defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Prosecution beat Sacred Heart Greenwich despite their witnesses’ theatrical performances.

 

Additional Participants

Our Competition could not have happened without the efforts of our valuable behind the scenes members Including Junior Leah Ali (timekeeper), Junior Katherine Fernschild (Bailiff), Junior Gabriella Perez (Prep Team). It is the coaches hopes and expectations that each of these students return next year to the program to take on a more substantive role, similar to a redshirt in college athletics.

 

The Coaches

The team is coached by Attorney Kyle D. Souza (SJ ‘15) and his wife, Attorney Nicolle M. Lipkin. The two met at Quinnipiac University School of Law. Coach Souza and Lipkin restarted this team to give back to the St. Joseph High School community, especially because it was this team that showed Coach Souza he ultimately wanted to go to law school and become an attorney when he led his SJ Mock Trial Team to playoffs in 2014-2015. Unfortunately, the team was defunct from 2018–2023, making every student on the 2024-2025 team a first-year mock trial competitor, which further emphasizes their determination and ambition as regional winners.

During practices, Coaches Souza and Lipkin emphasize the Federal Rules of Evidence, Credibility, Substantive Law, and having fun with serious topics. Above all, they emphasize hard work and no corner-cutting. The 2024-2025 Mock Trial Team’s performance on December 13 demonstrates that the team has bought into the coaches’ philosophy.