Lawyers, witnesses, judges and jurors all gathered as they listened to the murder case of Charles Grey. The KHS Mock trial team had been working on his case for seven months, with Henry Reinert, senior, being one of the lawyers on the case.

“The state trial was over four hours long,” Reinert said. “The lawyers had to talk for hours at a time.”

But according to Madeline Rapp, sophomore and a member of Mock Trial, that time paid off. On April 11, the KHS Mock Trial team won the state competition. 

“It feels really good,” Rapp said. “There was a lot of hard work that went into winning and getting here feels amazing.”

In Mock Trial, a group of students are given a fictional case to dissect, which they will eventually have to present in front of a panel of judges as if they were in a real courtroom. Students are divided into witnesses and lawyers, and they work together to present their case:, the murder of Charles Grey. Zoe Knight, senior, was a lawyer on the team.

“Charles Grey was a wealthy businessman. He pushed his partner, Parker Crimson, out of a big [business] deal,” Knight said. “After Grey was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he decided to host a dinner party to make amends, and during the dinner party he was murdered. The theory of the case is that Parker Crimson killed Charles Grey.” 

The team has been dissecting this case since October, and have had to defend it in multiple competitions. A smaller team of eight students went to state, but the whole Mock Trial club is made up of four teams of eight to 12 members, who all worked on this case.

Along with the students who make up the witnesses and lawyers, there are many adults who help the Mock Trial team prepare for court by offering advice. Many are legal professionals or have been through the KHS Mock Trial program themselves.

“We have the benefit of having a bunch of legal professionals, from assistant U.S. attorneys to people who’ve worked on presidential campaigns,” Reinert said. “We get to argue objections with actual lawyers and get to see what the job field is actually like.”

Students join Mock Trial for various reasons. Some join to be lawyers because they have an interest in pursuing law, while others become witnesses as a chance to act.

“It incorporates so many of the things I’m passionate about,” Knight said. “Debating, thinking on your feet, learning all the objections— it was everything I loved in one activity.”

But the Mock Trial team’s work does not end after winning the state competition. After placing first, they are now representing Missouri in the national Mock Trial competition.

“The national trial is an entirely different case,” Reinert said. “We have three weeks to write a whole new direct, cross-examinations and opening statements in a quarter of the time we normally have.”

While KHS celebrates the Mock Trial team’s hard work and state competition win, the team is preparing for nationals, which will be from May 13-15. While the Mock Trial season ends at the national competition, next year the team will be exploring a new case and anyone can participate.

“I’d encourage anyone who’s interested to join,” Reinert said. “It’s a great organization. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun and there’s so many great people.”