Fwd: [Vision2020] Case closed: Future lawyers in training -- Moscow school wins mock trial competition against Bishop Kelly

[thansen@moscow.com]

Forwarded Message:
> To: <vision2020@moscow.com>
> From: "Dale Courtney" <dmcourtn@moscow.com>
> Subject: [Vision2020] Case closed: Future lawyers in training -- Moscow 
school wins mock trial competition against Bishop Kelly
> Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2004 13:06:31 -0700
> -----
> Case closed: Future lawyers in training
> Moscow school wins mock trial competition against Bishop Kelly 
> 
> 	
>   <http://www.idahostatesman.com/Daily/20040407/212910-102643.jpg> 	
> 	
> Abby Busboom, a high school student from Logos School in Moscow, cries
> as
> she portrays the widow of a man who died after being attacked by a dog.
> Busboom´s team competed in the 17th annual mock trial competition at
> the
> Idaho Supreme Court in Boise on Tuesday. The team from Logos School won
> the
> event, even as the Bishop Kelly team won the mock trial.	
>   <http://www.idahostatesman.com/Daily/20040407/212910-102644.jpg> 	
> Photos by Chris Butler / The Idaho Statesman	
> Drew Simon, a student at Bishop Kelly High School, gives the closing
> argument as a judge´s panel of Russ Heller, left, Idaho Supreme Court
> Chief
> Justice Linda Copple-Trout and Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden
> listen
> Tuesday morning during the 17th annual mock trial competition finals.	
>   <http://www.idahostatesman.com/Daily/20040407/212910-102645.jpg> 	
> 	
> Playing the attorney for the defense, Bishop Kelly High student Drew
> Simon
> listens to testimony Tuesday at high school mock-trial competition at
> the
> Idaho Supreme Court in Boise. Bishop Kelly competed against a team from
> Logos School in Moscow. The Bishop Kelly team defended a woman accused
> of
> allowing her dog to kill a man.	
> 
> 
> Patrick  <mailto:porr@idahostatesman.com> Orr
> The Idaho Statesman (scooped DN again). 
> 
> The University of Idaho law school may want to set up permanent
> recruiting
> offices at Logos School in Moscow and Bishop Kelly High School in Boise.
> 
> 
> Teams of mostly underclassmen from both those schools faced off in the
> finals of the Idaho Law Foundation Mock Trial competition, with Logos
> winning the judging by a scant two-point margin — the second win in
> the past
> four years for the private K-12 school. 
> 
> 
> The winners in 2002 and 2003? Bishop Kelly. 
> 
> 
> So Tuesday´s final could have been the clash of the best of Idaho´s
> future
> litigators. And if passers-by had dropped into the Idaho Supreme Court,
> they
> would have thought they stumbled into a real capital murder trial
> instead of
> a contest between high school kids. 
> 
> 
> “This is really cool ... it´s so exciting,” said Abby Busboom, a
> key
> “witness” for the prosecution (the Logos team) who did some serious
> emoting
> as the spouse of a murder victim. Busboom was all smiles as fellow
> students
> and parents congratulated her Tuesday. “Our teachers really worked
> hard with
> us.” 
> 
> 
> “Other schools´ gyms are filled with banners for football, but ours
> are
> filled with banners from the mock trial competition,” said Bob
> Hieronymus,
> whose son, Scott, is on the Logos team. “These kids work really hard
> on
> this.” 
> 
> 
> The loss snapped Bishop Kelly´s team hope of a “threepeat,” but
> the kids
> seemed OK with the outcome. Most said they were a little disappointed,
> but
> felt good about their performance — especially since they won the
> trial
> itself when their “client” was found not guilty of murder. 
> 
> 
> Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Linda Copple-Trout, one of the three
> judges of the contest, noted that out of 120 total points based on
> performance, only 2 points separated the teams — the closest
> state-championship mock trial decision ever. 
> 
> 
> After the competition, students from both teams laughed and talked in
> small
> groups, morphing from junior attorneys, court officials or witnesses
> back
> into regular teenagers. 
> 
> 
> But an hour before, the teams looked like the real things arguing a
> capital
> murder case involving a dog mauling, with all the subtleties seen in a
> real
> courtroom. Such as: 
> 
> 
> • Asking a witness a question knowing the judge will rule it stricken,
> but
> getting it before the jury at least once. The Logos team did that a few
> times. 
> 
> 
> • Successfully rephrasing questions stricken by the judge to get the
> needed
> answers from witnesses. Lawyers for both teams did this. 
> 
> 
> • A defense attorney for the Bishop Kelly team placing his hand on the
> shoulder of the “accused” right before the verdict was read. 
> 
> 
> • Displaying a firm grasp of Idaho´s rules of evidence. Both teams
> cited
> code sections several times. 
> 
> 
> • Direct and cross examination were crisp and cool. Lawyers objected
> at the
> right times to leading questions or disputes over the law. 
> 
> 
> The students´ legal points were so good, in fact, that Copple-Trout
> had to
> consult with fellow judge Lawrence Wasden — Idaho´s attorney general
> —
> before issuing a ruling. 
> 
> 
> “I don´t recall ever having to work so hard on the rules of
> evidence,” she
> laughed after the competition. 
> 
> 
> The witnesses also were believable and natural, playing among other
> things a
> police officer, dog handler, dog owner and neighbor. 
> 
> 
> So where did these kids get their legal and acting chops? “Law and
> Order?”
> “NYPD Blue?” 
> 
> 
> Try real-world experience from attorney-coaches who work with the teams
> all
> year long. 
> 
> 
> “It´s not TV. Our coaches and teachers help us with everything —
> they will
> say stuff like ´A cop wouldn´t say that´ or ´This is how a
> lawyer would ask
> that question,´” said Bishop Kelly student Drew Simon, who offered
> an expert
> performance as an unflappable defense attorney. “We practice a lot.”
> 
> 
> 
> Busboom said she channeled teachings from drama class to get the proper
> pathos as the wife of the man fatally mauled. 
> 
> 
> “I worked really hard with my drama teacher. When I started doing it,
> I had
> a hard time crying, and then I pretended it was my dad (who was killed).
> Then it was like, oh (gasp) ...,” she said. “I didn´t want to seem
> whiny.” 
> 
> 
> Most of the kids said they have a blast in the contest but aren´t sure
> about
> pursuing careers as lawyers. 
> 
> 
> “This is fun, but being a lawyer means way too much paperwork,”
> Simon said.
> “You spend six months writing and writing just for a few days in
> court.” 
> 
> 
> To offer story ideas or comments, contact Patrick Orr
> porr@idahostatesman.com or 373-6619
> 
> Edition Date: 04-07-2004
> 
> http://www.idahostatesman.com/Common/PrintMe.asp?ID=64897
> 



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