Hours upon hours of work, both inside and outside of school, have prepared debate students for one of their biggest events of the year: mock trial. Mock trial is a competition in which students go and compete in the scenario of a real court case. Students are given specific roles and spend weeks before prepping and getting themselves ready to win the case given.

“We get a case, and then we get a couple months to look at it and build both sides,” said junior Sheridan Ellis. Ellis, along with junior Parker Dunn and seniors Xiomara Caldera and Kerim Gales, have been given the role of attorney.

Only once students arrive at the competition do they find out which side of the case they are on: defending the accused or presenting evidence against them. Until that time, students must get themselves ready to take on either role.

“Our job is making questions for witnesses, opening and closing speeches, cross-examinations, things like that,” said Caldera.

Mock trial is also a helpful tool for those looking to go into the legal profession. “It’s good preparation for people interested in careers in law,” said Gales.

The work that mock trial requires is quite taxing, and students are overwhelmed with how much must be done before the day of the competition. Homework for other classes is bypassed in order to focus on mock trial.

“I stress about mock trial more than any class,” said Ellis.

Participants also miss out on several hours of sleep or other recreational activities to make sure that they will succeed.

“I’ve gotten five hours of sleep this entire week,” said sophomore Anna Cook.

The levels of experience differ among students. Some, such as Gales and Ellis, have been participating in mock trial for years. For others, like Caldera and Dunn, this is their first time to compete.

In previous years, the debate team has not been able to achieve their goals. “We didn’t advance as far as we’d like,” said Gales.

This year, however, hopes are high. “I definitely think we’ll do well,” said Caldera.

Mock trial will take place in Little Rock on March 6 and 7. The competition may be viewed from an audience, so student attendance is encouraged. After all the work that the debate team has put into this competition, it might just be worth it.

“It’s stressful, but it’s fun,” said Caldera. “It’s worth it.”