Four Hudson County high school mock trial teams squared off in a battle of legal wits earlier this month in the county’s Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Courthouse, arguing two sides of a mock civil trial.
This year’s civil case was a hypothetical dispute between two distracted high school students: a pedestrian and the Corvette driver who hit him on school property.
A favorable decision by the jury initially granted a win to Miftaahul Uloom Academy, a parochial school based in Union City. The school was in its second year in the competition and only an argument away from moving on to the regional competition sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association.
“We are very into citizenry, making sure our students have the morals, the values.” – Roxanne Dworak
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But the academy had to settle for second place when the judge made the final decision in favor of Bayonne.
Though her team officially lost, Miftaahul teacher-coach Candice Elam believes her team gained much from the experience.
“[The competition] provides a good opportunity for students to build public speaking skills and learn the art of persuasion,” she said. “It fulfils so many things the students need in order to gain skills to make them more marketable in the work force.”
We argue that…
The mission of Miftaahul Uloom Academy aligns well with the competition overall, according to Miftaahul principal Roxanne Dworak.
“We are very into citizenry, making sure our students have the morals, the values,” she said.
The team from Miftaahul was comprised of 11 students in the extracurricular program – six of whom competed in last year’s team – teacher-coach Candice Elam, who teaches social studies and religion in the school, and attorney-coach Puya Nili, who instructed students on courtroom procedure.
Winning second place, according to Elam, was very rewarding for a school with only one year of mock trial experience under its belt.
“[The students] were very proud of their overall performance,” she said.
Last year’s team had advanced only to the county’s quarter finals.
“They had very humble expectations,” she said.
Humble indeed for a team that put in a “very demanding” 100 hours of mock trial practice over two months.
NJ Mock Trial Competition
For almost 30 years, the state bar association has brought “law to life” for area high school students participating in the mock trial competition. Two teams face off to argue both sides of a civil or criminal case on a topic that changes each year.
The teams were told to be prepared to argue the case on both the plaintiff and defendant’s behalf, and only learned at the start of the trial, with the draw of a card, which side they had been assigned.
High school teams first compete in county competitions, with the winning teams moving on to regional competitions, and then the state competition.
At the county level
Stephen McCurrie, Esq. has been Hudson County’s volunteer program director for almost 10 years.
An officer in the Hudson County Bar Association with a private civil law practice in Kearny, McCurrie sees the mock trial competition as a chance for students to learn the meaning and importance of the American justice system.
“It’s a wonderful program,” he said. “It gives the students the chance to gain a hands-on civic education… to see how the court system operates [in a live courtroom.]”
This year, teams competed at the county level including: Union City’s Miftaahul Uloom Academy and Union City High School, Weehawken High School, Hoboken’s The Hudson School, Bayonne High School, and several from Jersey City: St. Peter’s Prep, Hudson Catholic High School, Lincoln High School, and McNair Academic High School.
“All of the students from all of the teams did really well and were really professional,” Elam said.
Though McCurrie only works with the students on the county level, he said that what he saw in a short amount of time gave him confidence in the future of law.
“Just watching how they handle themselves during the course of the competition and their excitement…” he marveled. “I think we see the next generation coming in.”
Deanna Cullen can be reached at dcullen@hudsonreporter.com.