Students from FHN on the speech and debate team are preparing for the mock trial tournament on Jan. 21 at the courthouse in St. Louis.

Not all students on speech and debate are a part of the mock trial team. Is actually only about 20 students that are on the mock trial team, but just because they aren’t a part of the team l, doesn’t mean they.can’t remain a part of speech and debate. Abbie Crurma is one of the students that is on the speech and debate team, but isn’t a part of the mock trial team.

“I am not apart of it, because I have never tried debating or had the time too,” Cruma said.

Students that are a part of the mock trial team have to be in speech and debate, mostly because they wouldn’t understand what is going on when doing the trial. Also, they do trial every month and that’s practice for speech, as well. . Students that like debating do the mock trial or just like the action when it’s happening.

“It’s really fun to see how a real trial and act different roles,” Ronald Joel said.

The trial is a big time for these students, since they have been preparing for this for since the beginning of November. The whole group of students that are going to do the trial have to meet as a group and also individually, on their own time. . Most students are prepared at this point in the process, but some students are working on the last parts still.

“Yes, I’m prepared,” Joel said. “I just have to make my own voices for my role and need to speak more confidently.”

The mock trial is an act or imitation trial to test theories with each other and or a case that actually happened and they act out the part of real lawyers and witness.

“It’s simulating a real trial and preparing for that trial,”Grant Freitas said.

Everyone on the mock trial team has a different role to play. Students will mostly likely have more than more one role.

“I play two witnesses, their names on Finely Johnson and Reese Barnet,” Freitas said.

They are doing all they can to make the trial to look the most real looking as they can.

“I play lawyer and also witness, as a lawyer DX direct examination and also CX and play as a homeless guy that witnessed a murder,” Joel said.