NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus High School Mock Trial team competed in its seventh regional tournament on Saturday, Feb. 12 in Janesville. The students are responsible for mastering a manual with more than 100 pages of rules and procedures, and 40 pages of witness statements and exhibits before the present their trial.
This year's case involved a petition brought by Col. Jordan Nelson (played by Kaitlin Jennrich) to remove her younger sibling, Alex Nelson (played by Rachel Tyler), as the power of attorney for their surviving parent, Pat Nelson (played by Samantha Stecha). Pat is 82 years old and lives in the fictional Wisconsin town of Clearwater where Alex also lives.
Jordan is a colonel in the U.S. Army and lives in North Carolina. Pat's spouse (and Jordan's and Alex's other parent), Jan, died five years ago and left a substantial estate. Shortly after Jan's death, Pat signed a durable power of attorney for finances naming Alex as her power of attorney.
Jordan, through her student attorneys Cecilia Ford, Lauren Dearth and Jessica Pratt, claimed that not only is her mother Pat confused and mentally incapacitated, but that Alex has misused their mother's money to buy a hot tub and convertible, and fund gambling sprees. Alex, with her student attorneys Savannah Bettin, Claire Burke and Rebecca Eastham, counters that she has only her mother's best interests at heart and wants her Mom have a comfortable life in her remaining years, and that Jordan is a rigid and unfeeling individual who only wants to preserve "her" rights to a big estate from their mother.
Jordan will further rely on the testimony of Pat's neighbor, Gerry Blackburn (played by Alayna Truttman) and an expert social worker Robin Adams (played by Natalie Wright) to support her claim that Alex is isolating their mother.
Alex and Pat will for their part rely on the testimony of Pat's primary care physician, Dr. Avery Hudson (played by Abby Sommer) to show that Pat is fine mentally and in good hands with Alex.
The students met weekly since October to analyze the case, prepare their roles and work out their arguments.
The tournament consisted of four separate presentations of the trial, taking turns representing both sides. Each trial went for about two hours and was run against local teams such as Belleville, but also from Delavan, Oregon and other southern Wisconsin locations.
The New Glarus team won two of its trials outright, losing one trial on a split decision between the judges, and losing the first trial by only 14 points out of 146 points.
The team has three graduating seniors (Cecilia Ford, Rebecca Eastham and Abbigail Sommer) and anticipates a strong returning team next year. Jessica Pratt will be the first student to compete all four years in the program; Natalie Wright who is finishing her second year and will be a junior next year is on track to compete all four years as well.
The Mock Trial program is prepared and financially underwritten by the State Bar of Wisconsin. The New Glarus Mock Trial team is further financially supported by the Green County Bar Association.
This year's case involved a petition brought by Col. Jordan Nelson (played by Kaitlin Jennrich) to remove her younger sibling, Alex Nelson (played by Rachel Tyler), as the power of attorney for their surviving parent, Pat Nelson (played by Samantha Stecha). Pat is 82 years old and lives in the fictional Wisconsin town of Clearwater where Alex also lives.
Jordan is a colonel in the U.S. Army and lives in North Carolina. Pat's spouse (and Jordan's and Alex's other parent), Jan, died five years ago and left a substantial estate. Shortly after Jan's death, Pat signed a durable power of attorney for finances naming Alex as her power of attorney.
Jordan, through her student attorneys Cecilia Ford, Lauren Dearth and Jessica Pratt, claimed that not only is her mother Pat confused and mentally incapacitated, but that Alex has misused their mother's money to buy a hot tub and convertible, and fund gambling sprees. Alex, with her student attorneys Savannah Bettin, Claire Burke and Rebecca Eastham, counters that she has only her mother's best interests at heart and wants her Mom have a comfortable life in her remaining years, and that Jordan is a rigid and unfeeling individual who only wants to preserve "her" rights to a big estate from their mother.
Jordan will further rely on the testimony of Pat's neighbor, Gerry Blackburn (played by Alayna Truttman) and an expert social worker Robin Adams (played by Natalie Wright) to support her claim that Alex is isolating their mother.
Alex and Pat will for their part rely on the testimony of Pat's primary care physician, Dr. Avery Hudson (played by Abby Sommer) to show that Pat is fine mentally and in good hands with Alex.
The students met weekly since October to analyze the case, prepare their roles and work out their arguments.
The tournament consisted of four separate presentations of the trial, taking turns representing both sides. Each trial went for about two hours and was run against local teams such as Belleville, but also from Delavan, Oregon and other southern Wisconsin locations.
The New Glarus team won two of its trials outright, losing one trial on a split decision between the judges, and losing the first trial by only 14 points out of 146 points.
The team has three graduating seniors (Cecilia Ford, Rebecca Eastham and Abbigail Sommer) and anticipates a strong returning team next year. Jessica Pratt will be the first student to compete all four years in the program; Natalie Wright who is finishing her second year and will be a junior next year is on track to compete all four years as well.
The Mock Trial program is prepared and financially underwritten by the State Bar of Wisconsin. The New Glarus Mock Trial team is further financially supported by the Green County Bar Association.
