• Name of Club/Organization

Mock Trial
Moderator: Rebekah Schaller '97
rschaller@lasallehs.org

Assistant Coach: Michael Martinez '88, P'23

• Describe what your club/organization is about and what you do

The goals of the Mock Trial program are to expose the students to the U.S. Constitution, legal research, trial techniques, oral argumentation and to nurture any passion they may have for a career in the law, rhetoric, public speaking, politics, or forensics. Students are coached by Ms. Schaller and Mike Martinez, p ‘23 in preparation for their annual competition held in downtown Los Angeles. Students appear and present their pre-trial motions and case-in-chief in front of judges and attorneys from the greater L.A. area. The competition is county-wide. In addition, students in Mock Trial and the Introduction to Law class receive visits from multiple guest lecturers from every field of law throughout the academic year. Students are also eligible to apply for scholarships through the Constitutional Rights Foundation, attend nationally ranked summer camps, and make lasting connections.

• How many students are involved?

25 in the competition; 25 in the Intro to Law Class

• Favorite activity/event of the year (or greatest achievement)

Making play-offs for the first time in ten years was the highlight. Also, many of our students received county-wide awards for their performance: Janelle Huang, Lucas Troung, Caroline Smatko, Matthew Toth, and Chelsea Cheng

• Things you would like to do in the future and what you need to be able to accomplish them

The opportunity to send more students to UCLA camp. Every year the LLAN (Lancer Lawyer Alumni Network) fundraises to send at least two students to the Mock Trial Institute at UCLA. Recently, La Salle’s Mock Trial Captain, Caroline Smatko, attended UCLA’s week-long summer institute. She learned from the collegiate Mock Trial champions and competed with students from across the country in moot court. She also received college credit.