College students lay down the law

MIDLAND — When Northwood University freshman Miah Keller learned that a group of students would participate in a mock trial competition, she signed up for the event.

Keller, who grew up in Mount Clemens, participated as an observer with the Northwood team during the 2022 Notre Dame Invitational Tournament, held Oct. 8-10 in South Bend, Indiana. Keller wants to pursue a career in international law and thought the mock trial would be a good experience.

“It was pretty cool to be in an actual courtroom to see how everything works,” the L’Anse Creuse High School graduate said. “We were given a book that had a script of laws. I was able to follow along through that.”

Something Keller quickly learned was that “you really got to be on your toes” during cross examination.

“It’s kind of based on intuition,” she said.

Mock trial is a competitive intercollegiate activity that features teams from colleges and universities from across the nation. In the competition, the students participate in mock court cases designed to further develop their communication, critical thinking and teamwork skills. Students participate in all facets of an actual trial, taking on roles of prosecutors, defense attorneys and witnesses.

At the Notre Dame mock trial, participants represented a plaintiff in two trials and the defense in two additional trials. This year’s case involved a civil action based on negligence.

Students from all backgrounds and majors compete in mock trial competitions each year. During the competition, attorneys present opening and closing statements. In between, attorneys question witnesses from their team as well as the opposing teams. During trial, opposing teams can make objections and students must correctly argue the rules of evidence in order to win the argument.

The Northwood students included Keller; DeLorean Ishmon, of Eastpointe; Lukas Baker, of Midland; Jaleigh Beckert, of Westerville, Ohio; JonPaul Burns, of Imlay City; Bankaly Camara, of Ann Arbor; Kailey Hill, of Burton; Teagan O’Bryan, of Lapeer; Jalen Orr, of Kalamazoo; and J. Austin Wolfe, of Cincinnati.

The following students won awards: Wolfe for outstanding attorney, and Baker and Ishmon for outstanding witnesses.

“At the fall tournaments, we often pair students with significant experience with our novice students,” adviser DeLois Leapheart said in a Northwood news release. “This first tournament of the season was a great opportunity for our experienced students to demonstrate leadership to those with less mock trial experience. During each round, our students demonstrated growth.”

Ishmon’s mock trial case was based on a scenario of a man who owned a flight school but who died with an employee when the plane crashed. In the mock case, the wife of the employee who died sued the flight school and its surviving owners.

“My role was being a witness for the plaintiff. We prepared a script for the whole trial. You want to be as authentic as possible. You’re presenting a case in front of a real judge and real attorneys,” said Ishmon, who graduated from Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores in 2019. “I told my side of the case. I talked about seeing the plane flying really low to the ground. I’m the guy who saw the plane just before it crashed.”

Ishmon, a senior, has participated in mock trials during his four years at Northwood. Each time he further developed his critical thinking skills, confidence and communication skills. Ishmon is a marketing communications major who will graduate this spring.

Keller has enjoyed her time at Northwood.

“I’ve made some friends and a lot of the teachers have career experience,” Keller said. “They definitely know what they are talking about.”

According to the Northwood University website, www.northwood.edu, the mock trial season officially began Aug. 15. Teams then compete at invitational tournaments from October until January before the elimination season begins in February.

Starting in February, teams who do not finish at the top of the leaderboard are eliminated. Northwood students compete in tournaments that consist of four rounds. Each round is a complete trial. During a four-round tournament, each team represents the prosecution (or plaintiff in a civil case) in two trials and the defense in the other two trials.