DANVILLE — The Danville Mock Trial group is filled to the brim with superstars.
The team is comprised of 13 students hailing from Danville Local Schools, East Knox and home-schooled students. It’s known throughout Knox County and beyond, with one member driving 40 minutes for practices.
It’s a group with diverse interests. Students also play varsity football and participate in the jazz band.
Some senior members have been part of the group since middle school. Others have joined for academic and personal improvement, wanting to sharpen their public speaking and debating skills, critical thinking or writing abilities.
A few are already planning to attend law school to become lawyers.
The team has qualified for state mock trial competitions frequently since 2009, missing only in 2012 and 2022.
This year’s group didn’t plan on repeating last year, and indeed advanced to state competition March 9 through 11 at the Franklin County Courthouse.
This dream team is led by coach Noel Alden, who is a partner with Zelkowitz, Barry & Cullers, and First Assistant Law Director Brittany Whitney. They meet roughly three times a week but can vary depending on if a trial is imminent.
“It’s a real challenge to make it to that level,” Alden said. “We’re talking about hundreds of teams.”
Now Alden’s team is among the top 25 in the state.
Many on the team agree preparing for a mock trial and the actual trial itself is a major time commitment.
Now that state’s near the horizon, practices will become more intense, focused on what needs to be accomplished, Alden said.
The group went on a mock-trial trip to Chicago in 2022, where the Empire Mock Trial competition took place. The project was funded by the Danville Academic Foundation, which gave the club a generous $5,000 donation.
“We couldn’t have done the trip without their support,” Whitney said.
A number of mock trial alumni and community members also donated a significant amount of money for the trip.
This year’s case
The case this year is a suppression hearing for a high school student accused of tampering with eggs at an annual alumni breakfast. The foiled eggs were filled with explosive candy.
The student was brought to the dean’s office for questioning and afterward interrogated by the school resource officer. The question of the case is: Was the student’s fifth amendment right violated during the questioning? Was it seen as custodial interrogation?
The group arrived at Richland County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 27 to argue the case during OCLRE District Competition. The defense was led by Nora Holbrook, Ryan Lucas, Caleb Lucas and Minda Bates.
That group won while garnering outstanding prosecutor and witness awards.
Leading the defense, Holbrook spoke to the three acting judges and explained the framework for the argument.
“You wouldn’t have left,” Holbrook said. “You wouldn’t have left if the dean took you into their office and questioned you for hours when you asked multiple times to leave and you were never permitted to go — and certainly not when an armed police officer shuts you inside their small windowless office. You wouldn’t have left.”
Holbrook went on to argue the student (Stevie) wasn’t made aware of his rights and therefore the school and law enforcement failed to meet the burden of proof.
“He was questioned for two hours,” she said. “Stevie asked three separate times to leave and the answer was no.”
When cross-examining the school dean, defense council Ryan Lucas asked the dean what his response was when Stevie asked to leave.
The response was “You need to stay,” but he never gave the command “Yes, you can leave.”
Members of the mock trial team looked at Miranda vs. Arizona and Terry vs. Ohio for reference points, sharpening their arguments in the process and deepening their knowledge of the constitution and case law.
“The constitution doesn’t end at the schoolhouse gates,” one mock trial student said. “We’re trying to find the testimony, whether those statements can be brought to trial.”
After the prosecution and defense made their case, the three guest judges hurried away into the private chamber to deliberate on what they just witnessed.
After a couple of minutes, the trio of judges came back to their seats, collected their notes and looked at the pew below to give the news: Danville’s defense won. Not only that, the Blue Devils won best attorney and witness of the trial awards.
