When asked about the court system and the working of the laws through events like trials, few people would hesitate to say words in the scheme of the witness, the lawyers, the plaintiff, the defense, the image, and most notably the jury. The trial process has been much dramatized in the media in ways like the popular television shows Judge Judy, and the movie Erin Brockovich. However, the overall process continues to battle the ordinary public.

Here at Cherry Hill West, the Mock Trial Club is just the place to be. The supervisor of this club is Mr. Field, the US 2 AP teacher. The club is a great experience and greatly helps all eager students to actively take a part of this interactive trial process. With this clubs, students can even fully understand the court system.

Every year, the Mock Trial Team here at West is faced with a new trial, and must take the arduous work to analyze the events as well as the specific evidence surrounding each mock trial case. This year the mock trial team faced the case of “Carmen Capella V. Petzicon”, a stereotypical civil case that much of the media has well published in everyday news and documentaries. In this case, Carmen Capella (Brian Cislewich), a lovable show dog owner to the show dog Sally, a first time AABDS winner, has sued against Petzicon, an animal product company, Carmen was due to this product, which she applied after she saw evidence of fleas on her show dog, Sally. Each side forms a basis for their argument, thus creating the plaintiff (Carmen Capella’s side) and the Defense (Petzicon’s side). The plaintiff claims through their witnesses of Dr. Delani (Nick Sansone) and Jamson St. Clair (Eytan Gitler) that prove their point, thus testifying against Petzicon. The plaintiff sets out their case by swiftly attacking the so-called integrity of a company as Petzicon with expert medical evidence from Dr. Delani who claimed with expertise that no necropsy was needed to effectively identify the culprit in this lawsuit. The plaintiff, on the other hand, also brings to the table the expertise of an accountant as Jamson St. Clair to give a stable support to Carmen Capella’s case by giving monetary accounts of how much money Sally could have won Carmen if Petzicon’s product was not so deadly. Here, the plaintiff and the defense start to butt heads. The defense gives claim that Petzicon has not liable for this happening through its witness: Sam Stone (Chasen Shao), W. Pat O’Connell (Artur Manadov), and Val Popinjay (Jeremy Figuera). Sam Stone will use his chemical expertise to effectively show the 100% negligence on the owner’s behalf. W. Pat O’Connell will prove his companies integrity through his risk assessment continuum as well as his insurance of the continuous cycle of happiness drawn from the owners and dogs that use Petzicon products. Finally, yet probably most importantly, Val Popinjay bursts onto the scene to undermine the worth of Sally wildly exaggerated by Jamson St. Clair’s estimates.

The entire case was very compelling, and involved many talents stirred together that helped to build the outstanding mock trial team Cherry Hill West put together this year. With a final record of 2-1 and an ultimate loss in a close match against our archrival Cherry Hill East, the mock trial team did not advance to the county finals.

The team is always open for anyone to join next year, and is a very fun and enlightening opportunity for anyone. It only dives under the circumstances of the case. It is highly recommended and greatly improves ones ability to think quickly on their feet.

If you have any questions, you can contact Mr. Field.