Mock Trial

One of the most exciting and fulfilling experiences I had in high school was when I did Mock Trial. My friend Dave Marksman Encouraged me to sign up, and I reluctantly agreed. It sounded bizarre: a school club that learns about a made-up criminal case under the direction of a real attorney, splits up into the defense and prosecution, and acts out the trial in a real courtroom, before a real judge.

Dave had been doing this for a while, and seemed to like it so much, he wanted me to see what it was all about. I joined, and I’m glad I did.

The first day was just an introduction to what this was all about. I remember clearly the lines people gave as they introduced themselves, explaining why they wanted to join the Mock Trial Team. They all wanted to be lawyers, or learn about the legal system, or whatever. Maybe. Or maybe they just needed more activities on their record to round out their college applications. Either way, when it was my turn to introduce myself, it sounded a bit different from all that. “Uh, my name’s Andrew Lipiansky, and I’m here because my friend Dave said I should come check it out.”

Apparently, the lawyer running the club decided not to hold my honesty against me. She even made me a lawyer for the prosecution, which I was pretty sure my candor should have disqualified me from, but I guess this was a big deal, because Dave had been doing this for two years, and he was still just a witness.

We would go on to be undefeated at state, and that is something I will always look back on as a great experience, a product of hard work, and team effort.