For the first time in school history, Loretto Academy is being represented in the courtroom with its first mock trial team to ever take the stand.

The Angels made their debut at the El Paso Regional 19 meet on January 30-31st at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse.

Composed of nine juniors and seniors, the team is eager to join El Paso’s 11 other competitive mock trial teams and make their mark in the court.

What is mock trial?

Mock trial is a competition where student teams from different high schools recreate a courtroom trial by playing the roles of attorneys and witnesses for a prosecution and defense.

The teams diligently study fictional cases and reenact them there in front of real lawyers, judges, and attorneys, who award points for accurate cross examinations, authentic witness testimony, strong opening and closing statements, and the team’s ability to adapt to judge rulings.

The two teams that were awarded the most points advanced to the semifinals and will be given the opportunity to compete at state to represent El Paso and their respective schools.

 Determined work for months

Mock trial was first introduced to Loretto Academy by the freshman class head sponsor and history teacher, Mr. Causey.

On his incentive behind starting this activity, Mr. Causey said, “I’m the sponsor for the Angels in Law club, and El Paso mock trial was looking to expand their reach, so they contacted me, and I thought it would be something good to bring to Loretto.”

Once the Loretto team was formed, they were given a 150-page case file in October containing an overview of the case, witness statements, and rules of evidence.

The students put in countless hours of practice learning new, valuable sets of skills involving how to analyze cases, build arguments, make valid objections, and memorize witness testimonies.

The girls were then assigned parts as lawyers, attorneys, or witnesses, and were tasked with memorizing the details of their roles and executing them to perfection.

Reflecting on this hard work, junior mock trial member Ann Marie Franco said, “For the lawyers, we had to read through the rules of evidence so we knew what to object to and how to respond to being objected to, which involved working with our coaches.”

Success and takeaways

Though the outcome wasn’t entirely what the team had sought, they remarkably represented Loretto with their display of hard work, intelligence, and driving passion.

Individually, Loretto team members received high praise from the judges.

Senior Juliana Puentes received four votes for best lawyer, junior Ann Marie Franco received three votes for best lawyer, and junior Lyle Skillern received two votes for best witness.

The overall experience was an amazing way for the students to be exposed to real-life court scenarios and legal knowledge, develop their public speaking skills and professionalism, and strengthen their critical thinking under pressure.

Working closely with real lawyers at the District Attorney’s Office was a great opportunity for the angels interested in pursuing a career in law.

On the value of her experience, Ann Marie said, “I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer, so it was really fun to be able to learn from the real lawyers and learn how they do their jobs.”

As the Angels close and reflect on their first season, their determination, intelligence, and teamwork proved that this year is only the beginning of a new, competitive Loretto program.