Parkway North Mock Trial Succeeds in Recent Competition

             On Jan. 27, both Parkway North Mock Trial teams, Yin and Yang, unanimously won their trials 3-0 at the Clayton Courthouses.
             “I’m proud of the work that we did. We still have room to improve, but we still took care of business [at the trials],” said Mock Trial coach Scott Nilsen.
             The trial this year is about whether a teenager named Brock Suzik was engaging in underage drinking and driving, if as a result he hit another car, and if this possible accident caused victim Renee Bennett’s fetus to die when she was thrown into an embankment. The prosecution’s job is to prove that all of this occurred beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defense’s job is to prove that the evidence provided in the trial is circumstantial and proves nothing accused of Suzik.
            “I think [this year’s] case is a good case, [but] it wasn’t as good as last year’s. I think [this year’s case] has a level playing field because the prosecution has better witnesses, but the defense is right in saying that the evidence is circumstantial,” said sophomore Ben Weinstock, Mock Trial member.
             In this first round of the competition, Yin was prosecution and went against Thomas Jefferson School, and Yang was defense and went against one of Pattonville’s six Mock Trial teams.
             “I thought [Thomas Jefferson] was pretty good. They seemed to be smart kids. They obviously were prepared for the case,” said Weinstock.
             The next Mock Trial competition, where Yin will play defense and Yang prosecution, is on Feb. 24 at the Clayton Courthouse.

Brianna McCain