The RKYHS mock trial team competed this week in the New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial competition. Mock Trial is a hybrid of drama, law and debate skills in which a team of attorneys and witnesses from RKYHS compete against teams from other schools in Essex County who have prepared the same case.

This year’s case featured the death of an individual from an opiate overdose and the subsequent police investigation that followed. Over the course of four months of preparation, the team learned trial strategies, the logic of creating arguments and questions and about legal principles related to the case at hand and courtroom procedures. In addition to the academic skills, students develop the personal characteristics of thinking on their feet, public speaking, and strategizing.

This dedicated team of students from all grades worked together to create a trial strategy and rehearse “What if” scenarios of questions, objections and witness preparation. The team owes a special debt of gratitude to its volunteer attorney coach, Donna Butler, for her most generous contribution of time and expertise.