Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School Mock Trial Team Heading to State Finals After Successful Finish In Regional Event
Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School Mock Trial Team Heading to State Finals After Successful Finish In Regional Event
Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School’s third-place finish in the South Carolina Bar Associations Annual Middle School Mock Trial regional competition qualifies them to advance to the state finals to be held in Columbia, SC December 2-3, 2022.
Jackson is one of only 12 schools throughout South Carolina, and the only team representing Aiken County, to compete for the state championship after their successful performance at the regional event held Saturday, November 5, 2022.
Mock trial teams are comprised of students assuming attorney and witness roles who argue a fictitious court case against teams from other schools during three rounds of competition. Students are judged on their ability to demonstrate legal reasoning, proper debate and argument techniques, case knowledge, and professional skills that are commonly found in real-world courtroom settings.
This year’s case centers on the evidence and witness accounts relating to a murder allegedly caused by the actions of the defendant. Teams must study witness affidavits, evidentiary exhibits, and legal procedures while preparing a case for both the prosecution and defense, and arguments are presented in an actual courtroom before a three-person “jury” of accredited attorneys from South Carolina.
Teams are alerted to which side they will argue only fifteen minutes before each round and must plan accordingly. Points are earned in each round of cases and the three teams that accumulate the highest total scores in a region advance to the state finals, where students again compete in a three-round semi-final. The top two teams will then face off in a two-round final to determine the overall champion.
Jackson STEM Magnet Middle School, whose principal is Carla Dupert, is represented by student attorneys Candace Williams, Ryleigh Wall, Makayla Allen, Lesley Keck, and Torian Lloyd, student witnesses Briana Darren, Briana Loadholt, Jenna Ray, Kaylee Simoneau, Lillian Jurkovich, and Travis Walker, and student bailiff and timekeeper Jameicka Stallings. Teachers Phil Sirk, O’livia Felton, and Q’Ladrin Qourters, along with attorney Barry Thompson of the Aiken County Public Defenders office, assisted in coaching the team.