By Jakira Murray Staff Writer
The Cody DIT mock trial team beat Central High School on April 21 at Wayne State University Law School in their first-ever mock trial competition.
After all the first round trials, DIT’s final score from the judges was in the top two, so they will return to WSU Law School on May 14 to compete against Hamtramck High School for the final trophy.
Neighborhood Legal Service Michigan (NLSM) sponsors the mock trial competition. Before the trial, each team works with an attorney from NLSM to prepare both a prosecution and a defense for a set of facts from a past Michigan criminal case. Students play the parts of the lawyers and the witnesses, and a presiding judge awards points in multiple categories.
Attorney Kesia Reeves mentored the team through their trial preparation and said she was very proud of the determination and application of skill demonstrated by the DIT mock trial team.
“It’s not necessarily unusual for a new team to get to the finals, but the depth of case analysis and performance level of this team is unusual,” Reeves said.
Still, the newness made some students nervous. Senior Antonio Dozier said when he saw the team from Central, he was worried about how well prepared they looked.
“But the second they made a mistake I thought, oh yeah, they’re human,” Dozier said.
Cody DIT senior Kayla Salter skipped a field trip to see a real trial at 36th District Court to participate in the mock trial. She played the part of an FBI agent who was a witness for the prosecution.
“I’ve never been to a real trial before, let alone been a part of one,” Salter said. “It was so fun. I’m glad I skipped my other field trip.
While students were conducting the trial, another group of students were engaged in a contract negotiation. DIT senior Armoni Harris was part of a negotiating team representing an employer in a dispute with an employee who wanted to end her contract.
“When I was there, I felt professional. I had to carry myself differently,” Harris said.
Mark Hopson, Director of Children’s Education for NLSM, said he hopes to encourage young people to learn about the law and to think about pursuing legal careers.
“We want to educate youth about the law as opposed to representing them after the fact,” Hopson said.
