Mock Trial teams finish season

The Falls City High School Mock Trial teams finished the season on November 6. Mock Trial Team One lost a very narrow split decision in the semi-finals of competition. 13 teams competed in the regionals this year with the winning team getting to go on to state competition in Lincoln in December.

Team sponsor Lori Rech commented on the season, "Our mock trial teams have come a long way in the 3 years that I have sponsored them. I have learned a great deal and I hope the kids have as well. They have a taste for winning competiitons now and have learned a lot about the legal process!" She also added, "I want to thank Mike Dunn for all of his hard work in
helping our teams achieve the success that they have had this year."

Falls City Mock Trial Team One defeated Fillmore Central Team Two in the first competition on October 29 at the court house in Tecumseh. On November 5, they again traveled to Tecumseh and defeated HTRS Team Three. On November 6, Team One lost a very narrow split decision to HTRS Team Two at the court house in Auburn. The three judges scored Falls City with 256 points to HTRS's 261 points out of 300 possible. Mrs. Rech said, "My team was very disappointed after having performed so well in this competition, but I am proud of them. They performed so well! I think the decision in this competition could have gone either way very easily! I only have one returner off of this team for next year, Hannah Thompson. I am excited to have her experience for next year's team!"

Mock Trial Team One at one of the competitions are Molly Thomas, Terri Brown, Emily Pierson, Dylan Frederick, Danelle Johnson, Hannah Thompson, and Krista Kopf.

Falls City Mock Trial Team Two defeated Johnson-Brock on October 30 at the court house in Falls City. On November 5, they competed against Crete during round two in Tecumseh and narrowly lost. Emily Pierson stepped in as a witness for an ill Jessica Kelz, and the team had to switch sides from defense to plantiff at the last minute. Mrs. Rech said, "Judge Bryan stated that our kids didn't miss a beat and did a good job even though we came up a little short. This is a young team and I look forward to bringing all of that experience back again next year!"

At a competition, Mock Trial Team Two members are Trent Scheitel, Jessica Kelz, Clint Bartek, Dan Hagedorn, Kent Stejskal, and Ethan Fritz.

Members of the teams and their positions are as follows:

Team One:

Lawyers: Danelle Johnson*, Krista Kopf, and Hannah Thompson*
Witnesses: Molly Thomas*, Terri Brown, and Dylan Frederick

Team Two:

Lawyers: Kent Stejskal*, Trent Scheitel*, and Ethan Fritz
Witnesses: Dan Hagedorn*, Clint Bartek*, and Jessica Kelz

Alternates for the two teams include Emily Pierson (time keeper), Madison Winslow, Cassie Summers, Josh Murphy, Shelby Hitchcock, and Sarah Nolte.

Students on the Mock Trial Team work with Mike Dunn, a local lawyer, and Lori Rech, team sponsor, to research and practice their cases.

The teams had one practice round before entering District competition with schools from HTRS (3 teams), Southeast Consolidated, Crete (2 teams), Fillmore County (2 teams), Auburn (2 teams), and Johnson-Brock, which was a new school added this year.

Practice began September 12th with Mike Dunn helping as the teams' lawyer coach. The lawyers have been working hard putting their case together. The witnesses have started learning about their characters from their depositions.

The case this year is a civil case involving illegal downloading and file sharing of music entitled "A & M Records, Inc., et al. vs. K.C. Jones."

* Indicates a returning Mock Trial team member