Morris Area’s mock trial team has been offered for the last five years. In the four previous years, the attorney coach was Aaron Jordan. But the team has a new coach this year: Charlotte Culbertson. I had the privilege of interviewing her and getting her opinion on this season and her thoughts on being the new coach. 

Q: What made you decide to be the new mock trial coach?

A: To help shape young minds and introduce them to the wonderful area of law. But also Aaron was leaving the area and he asked me if I would get involved.

Q: What do you think of the case?

A: The case is overly complicated for a high school. To take a corporate defendant in a criminal matter is overly complicated. If you’re trying to teach trial, you don’t need to complicate it unnecessarily.

Q: What is the biggest difference between mock trial and real trial?

A: The rules are quite similar, they’re simplified. The biggest difference is predictability because here, you know what people are going to say. In real trial, you could get fired the first day, you don’t know what people are going to say on the witness stand. You don’t know what is going to come out of their mouth. Here you know what they’re going to say; they have a script, and they have to stick to the script.

Q: Can you see yourself coaching mock trial for an extended time?

A: Yeah, I have grandkids coming up into it. I’ll do it mostly because of the grandkids. I’ll keep doing it if they want me.

Q: What are you looking forward to the most?

A: Actually, seeing you guys do it, that’s what I’m looking forward to.

I also talked with other members of the mock trial team. Jeslyn Olson, a senior,  just joined this year. I asked her about her thoughts about it, and she said, “It’s extremely interesting, and I can’t wait to see how it all pans out.” I interviewed Kaia Anderson, a senior, as well. This is her third year on the team. Her thoughts are: “This case feels a lot more complicated and bigger than the previous cases I’ve been on. It’ll be a good challenge, and I think this team is definitely up to it. And I like the new coach a lot!”

I interviewed Anna Jordan, who is the team captain and a senior. She has been on the team for about three and a half years. She says, “Mock trial is my favorite activity. I think the environment is really cool. Being able to sit down and have a conversation on the case and being able to chill. [The case] is very interesting. I think each of the characters has flaws and things to exploit but also to use to our advantage. Their personalities shine through.”  When asked about her thoughts on being team captain she said, “I am really thankful that I have this opportunity to advocate for my team and be a leader to them. I hope I can do a really good job.”

My last interview was with Aria Chatters, a junior. It is her second year on the team. “I think it’s a pretty interesting case. It has a lot of plot holes, in my opinion,” she says. “I feel like there should be more witnesses even though it’s not allowed.” I asked her more about the experience, and she said, “It’s my favorite activity out of the many that I do. I think the people are really nice and fun and I like how serious our competitions are. I really like that we get to go into real courtrooms. I also love how seriously everyone takes mock trial and how we stay on top of it the whole time.”

Mock trial is a commitment, but it is worth every second! The team is excited to welcome the new coach and get ready for the 2023-2024 season!