Murder and deceit are two things one does not typically associate with high school activities. Yet, these things are exactly what area mock trial teams spend time contemplating in preparation for competitions - how to defend or prosecute the accused, detect lies in witness testimony or appear credible on the stand.
The murder is fictional and the students have not (yet) earned law degrees, but their success is real. Teams from both Brainerd and Pequot Lakes high schools are advancing to the 2015 Minnesota state high school mock trial competition after besting opponents at their respective regional finals.
The trips to state represent the third consecutive year for the Brainerd team and the second time consecutively - and ever - for the Pequot Lakes team.
Students on the Brainerd team said they've learned much more about the legal system by participating in mock trial.
"Most people's conception of court is, they basically just take it from 'Law and Order,'" said Keaton Riley, an "attorney" on the team. "They don't show there are all these rules inside of what exactly is going on. There's rules of evidence that I had no idea about before I joined mock trial."
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Riley, a senior at Brainerd High School, is an elder on the team. In his fourth year of mock trial, he said he took a somewhat reduced role to prepare the team for impending turnover - half of the team will graduate this year.
Students and Brainerd coach Jan Carlson identified numerous other things mock trial has helped them with, from public speaking to identifying career paths to learning attention to detail.
"I don't think anyone here can say that it didn't help them in any sort of manner dealing with nerves or talking," Riley said.
Senior Jake Norr, who plays a witness, said there was a tremendous difference in his nerves from the first trial of the year compared to their most recent one, although the nerves don't quite go away, even with a lot of practice.
"Watching them the second and then the third time, leaps and bounds," Carlson said.
As for students who might be interested in joining mock trial, the team has some advice: be prepared for stress, but give it a shot because it just might be fun, too.
The state tournament will take place March 5-6 at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis. The teams are guaranteed participation in three separate trials and could advance to the championship trial from there. They will not, however, know whether they'll argue for the prosecution or defense until right before their trials. This means they must be fully prepared to argue either side.
Coordinated by the Minnesota State Bar Association, the state's high school mock trial program introduces students to the American legal system by creating a fictional case each year that teams across the state work from and develop arguments for. The winner of the state tournament will advance to the national championship, which will be May 14-16 in Raleigh, N.C. Participants at the national level will work from an entirely new case, the details of which will not be revealed until April.
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CHELSEY PERKINS may be reached at 855-5874 or chelsey.perkins@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchChelsey .
