Michael Maione always had aspirations of one day attending law school. Although he doesn’t plan on becoming an attorney, the Weehawken High School senior wants to pursue law school as a way of better his chances in the field of sports management.
“I’ve always been interested in the law,” said Maione, who will attend Sacred Heart University in Connecticut next year. “I’m on the debating team and I also like to argue, so it’s almost like a natural for me to be interested.”
The same goes for Miguel Hernandez, although he aspires to become an attorney some day.
“Since I want to become a lawyer, I want to know everything about it,” said Hernandez, who plans to attend Montclair State. “I want to learn everything I can.”
In years past, the students of Weehawken High School got their first taste of the legal profession by participating in the Hudson County Mock Trial Competition, sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Association.
Back then, the students were instructed by former township councilman and attorney Marvin “Chip” Walden, who acted as the lawyer advisor for the students. However, student interest waned in the last few years and Walden moved from town, giving the students no legal guidance. Weehawken last participated in the countywide competition in 1998.
Enter Elise DiNardo, a Jersey City-based attorney who recently moved to Weehawken. Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner recommended DiNardo to take over as the legal advisor, as long as there was interest from the Weehawken students to participate.
“Dr. [Peter] Olivieri [the school principal] knew that we talk about legal cases in my social studies classes,” said Gary Siramarco, the teacher advisor for the Mock Trial Competition. “He recommended that we should enter the competition again, as long as there was interest. It’s not easy for a small school with students involved in so many activities. Taking on the challenge of being in the competition takes a lot of time and dedication, before school, on Sundays. You have to be able to work around everyone else’s schedule.”
The classes would take place before school, sometimes three times a week. They also met for three hours every Sunday afternoon. It was a tremendous sacrifice. But the students were more than willing to get involved.
“When the opportunity like this opened up, I couldn’t let it pass me by,” Maione said.
Fellow senior James Barracato agreed.
“I do a lot of telemarketing, so I’m interested in anything having to do with speaking,” Barracato said. “I had a really good grasp of the law, so I knew what to expect when I joined.”
DiNardo and Siramarco worked endless hours with the students, preparing them with the details of the case that would be the focus of the competition.
The case involved a female student at a New Jersey college who attended a rock concert on the campus of her school. While at the concert, dancing and moshing took place and she got knocked to the ground and trampled to death.
Maione and Barracato were the plaintiff’s attorneys who had to prove that the school was negligent in the young woman’s death. Fellow students Michele Canoura and Esmeira Paulino were the defense attorneys, trying to convince a panel of jurors that the victim was high on Ecstasy and alcohol at the time of her death.
Other students, like Hernandez, acted as key witnesses for each side. Junior Fernando Nagode portrayed a rock star who played in the concert and was a witness to the death of the victim.
“The judges really loved his portrayal,” Siramarco said.
The crew of student attorneys went over the case with attorney DiNardo to assure that they asked the right questions and went about the case in the most professional way.
“Elise really worked hard with the kids,” Siramarco said.
When the students faced off against McNair Academic of Jersey City in the first round of the competition, they felt they were ready.
“I didn’t know much about the legal system and the proceedings, but she definitely helped us,” Maione said. “She told us what evidence we could present and we went over it to make sure everything was right.”
“Elise DiNardo really helped us out to get us ready,” Barracato said. “At times, it got frustrating, because we were going over it and over it. But she really taught us a lot. And in the end, it paid off, because we were ready. We rose to the occasion.”
Sure enough, for the first time, the Weehawken mock trial team won a round in the competition, defeating McNair, which once won the competition. The competition was presided over by a group of Hudson County judges, who conducted the scoring. Attorney Alan Porwich was the coordinator.
And although the Weehawken team lost in the second round to Holy Family Academy, the competition was a rousing success.
“It felt really good to beat McNair,” Maione said. “It’s a really big honor. We showed them what we’re all about.”
Siramarco believes that the experience was a good one for all the students involved.
“They learned about public speaking, about reasoning,” Siramarco said. “There was a lot of reading and listening, as well as getting a better understanding of the legal system. The whole thing was new to me, but I think we all learned a lot.”
Barracato thought the experience was good, because it brought a group of students together that would never be associated with each other.
“We had freshmen through seniors, all working for one goal,” Barracato said. “It really gave us a good team feeling. And we all got into the competition of it.”
Olivieri was very pleased with the team’s performance and will assure that the mock trial competition team will remain in the school’s future.
“It teaches them about the legal profession and allows them to get interested in that profession,” Olivieri said. “It also gives them a feeling of accomplishment and helps their self esteem. I think they all did a great job. The volunteers are helpful and the kids become dedicated and it’s so great to see everyone get so enthusiastic. It’s really something that they can build on.”
Siramarco is hopeful that the mock trial team can be incorporated into the regular curriculum.
“If we can incorporate it with drama, I think we could do a much better job,” Siramarco said. “They all gained so much knowledge that we’ll do much better next year.”
And at least, thanks to the efforts of DiNardo and Siramarco, there will be a next year.