The mock trial team at Weehawken High School placed second in Hudson County this month in the 2008-2009 annual Mock Trial Statewide Competition coordinated by the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick.
Weehawken’s team competed against 14 other high schools at the Hudson County Superior Courthouse in Jersey City from Feb. 2 to 5, and on Feb. 9.
Students have been competing in the Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition for the last nine years under the direction of teacher/advisor Gary Siramarco. This year, about 20 to 25 students from the school competed.
“It’s a statewide competition sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation in cooperation with the NJ County Bar Association,” said Siramarco.
According to Siramarco, the cases chosen by the NJ Law Center alternate every year between criminal and civil cases.
Pirating music
This year’s civil case was about a high school student being sued by the American Association of Recording Companies Inc. (AARCI) for illegally downloading copyrighted music files over the internet without rightfully compensating the music artist and the record companies.
“I learned that even if you don’t think you are downloading something illegally, you might be.” – Giselle Immerfall, 15
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The contemporary issue of downloading copyrighted music is one that the students are very familiar with, and they had the opportunity to learn about copyright infringement laws.
“I learned that even if you don’t think you are downloading something illegally, you might be,” said Giselle Immerfall, 15.
“It’s a matter of let me put myself in their shoes, and look at the side effects of what you’re doing,” said Nashwa Elangbawy, 15. “I haven’t downloaded a song since then. I feel guilty now.”
During the semi-final round, Nashwa and Giselle acted as the team’s lead attorneys, and defeated Hudson Catholic High School. However, in the final round, lead attorneys Jamie Pierre and Amy Lebron lost to Bayonne High School.
“We have a young team this year of mostly 10th graders, and this is their first time in a real courtroom with judges,” said Siramarco.
“When we went up [the first time], we were nervous and lost,” said Nashwa. “[You have to remember], it’s just a game no matter what, and when you lose the nerves you get better.”
Other students from the team playing witness for the case were Naomi Marrero, Katie Turner, Yiraisa Andujar, Rawan Badreldeen, Rutul Amin, Christian Manging, and Rahat Merchant.
Attorneys in the making
According to Siramarco, this program has been very beneficial to students not only interested in law, but in other areas of interest. The program has them work on researching, reading, and speaking, and presentation skills.
Many students involved in the mock trial team stay involved throughout high school.
“We are a small school and we have many activities in the school, so I try to encourage them to stay on with us,” said Siramarco.
“We both want to be lawyers and I love arguing with people,” said Giselle.
Before the trial, the team met daily for morning practices before school, and on Sundays they would practice in the court chambers of Town Hall. They have been preparing for the competition since October.
“We are proud of Weehawken High School because for a small school, we were able to do so well and finish second,” said Assistant Principal Alfred Orecchio. “We lost to Bayonne in the final round, and we commend Bayonne for their victory.”
Jessica Rosero can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com.