NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus High School Mock Trial team will compete in its 15th trial tournament at 8 and 10 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Rock County Courthouse in Janesville.
Four versions of the trial will be presented: two as plaintiff and two as defendant. The event is open to the public. An exhibition performance also will be held at 5 p.m. Jan. 31 in the High School Auditorium.
The students are responsible for mastering a manual with over 80 pages of rules and procedures and 35 pages of witness statements, exhibits and legal standards before they compete against teams from across southern Wisconsin.
The students assume roles as either lawyers presenting the case and making arguments or as witnesses who must make a convincing presentation of their facts. The witnesses are then cross-examined by student attorneys from other teams before the panel of three judges decides on points which side has "won" that particular trial.
This year's case is a civil case for damages brought by a mining company against Jesse Green for alleged vandalism to the company's equipment. Dig Deep Iron Mining Company is testing a tentative iron taconite mining site outside of the fictional town of Clearwater. Several individuals objecting to the testing and potential mine are protesting the development and staying at a camp a short distance from the mining test site. The events allegedly occurred June 20, 2017, when the crusher was vandalized with graffiti and damaged by someone placing sugar in its hydraulics. The plaintiff admits only to being a protestor at the camp and denies having damaged the equipment or having been on the mining site illegally.
The plaintiff lawyer team is Tessa Sheridan, Elizabeth Woerpel and Abigail Marty. Defense lawyers are Stacy Benoy, Walela Three-Sticks and Callista Lahey.
The plaintiff's witnesses are: Perry Blart, played by Merrick Fong; Ellis Gran, played by Anderson Justman; and Karl Campbell, played by Michael Schieldt.
The defendant's witnesses are: the plaintiff Jessie Green, played by Gabrielle Whisler; Bobby Markings, played by Merrick Fong; and Charlie Baker, played by Jenna Anderson.
The New Glarus Mock Trial team is coached by New Glarus Middle School teacher Lexa Speth and attorneys Faun Phillipson and Dan Gartzke. They are supported by a financial donation from the Green County Bar Association and the volunteer services of local judges Thomas Vale and Duane Jorgenson and attorney Daniel Bestul, who donated a Sunday afternoon to hear the practice rounds.
Four versions of the trial will be presented: two as plaintiff and two as defendant. The event is open to the public. An exhibition performance also will be held at 5 p.m. Jan. 31 in the High School Auditorium.
The students are responsible for mastering a manual with over 80 pages of rules and procedures and 35 pages of witness statements, exhibits and legal standards before they compete against teams from across southern Wisconsin.
The students assume roles as either lawyers presenting the case and making arguments or as witnesses who must make a convincing presentation of their facts. The witnesses are then cross-examined by student attorneys from other teams before the panel of three judges decides on points which side has "won" that particular trial.
This year's case is a civil case for damages brought by a mining company against Jesse Green for alleged vandalism to the company's equipment. Dig Deep Iron Mining Company is testing a tentative iron taconite mining site outside of the fictional town of Clearwater. Several individuals objecting to the testing and potential mine are protesting the development and staying at a camp a short distance from the mining test site. The events allegedly occurred June 20, 2017, when the crusher was vandalized with graffiti and damaged by someone placing sugar in its hydraulics. The plaintiff admits only to being a protestor at the camp and denies having damaged the equipment or having been on the mining site illegally.
The plaintiff lawyer team is Tessa Sheridan, Elizabeth Woerpel and Abigail Marty. Defense lawyers are Stacy Benoy, Walela Three-Sticks and Callista Lahey.
The plaintiff's witnesses are: Perry Blart, played by Merrick Fong; Ellis Gran, played by Anderson Justman; and Karl Campbell, played by Michael Schieldt.
The defendant's witnesses are: the plaintiff Jessie Green, played by Gabrielle Whisler; Bobby Markings, played by Merrick Fong; and Charlie Baker, played by Jenna Anderson.
The New Glarus Mock Trial team is coached by New Glarus Middle School teacher Lexa Speth and attorneys Faun Phillipson and Dan Gartzke. They are supported by a financial donation from the Green County Bar Association and the volunteer services of local judges Thomas Vale and Duane Jorgenson and attorney Daniel Bestul, who donated a Sunday afternoon to hear the practice rounds.
