Mock Trial Wins Trial Round 1

On Thursday 27 March, MLC School hosted a Mock Trial against St Maroun’s College. Mock Trial is a competition run by the Law Society of New South Wales which introduces high school students from Year 10 and Year 11 to legal systems and environment. It creates an opportunity for students to learn about law in a practical way with a team of students acting as a solicitor, court officer, barristers and witnesses. The two schools competing are allocated either prosecution or defence, for this case MLC School was the prosecution. Each school has about a month to prepare their case, focusing on relevant issues and details, while also considering relevant case law for research.

The case in question was a criminal matter in which Jordan Taylor was accused of using an SMS service to send threatening and harassing messages to Mia Johnson. As prosecution we had to prove that Jordan Taylor was guilty beyond reasonable doubt. To do so we had to prove firstly, that Jordan Taylor used a carriage service, secondly, that Jordan Taylor used it in a way to menace or harass and finally whether Jordan Taylor was reckless as to if the communication would have that effect. 

Our barristers, Elena Tulloch (Year11) and Amelia Tchan (Year 11) argued passionately, articulating the case convincingly with detail. Elena carefully established the case, setting out clearly what it was we had to prove, which is stated above. Amelia’s powerful cross examination was impactful and proved why the Defence’s witnesses were unreliable. Our witnesses, Anna Obaid (Year 11) as Mia Johnson and Jodhi Bou (Year 10) as Senior Constable Liam Brown, played a vital role in presenting evidence to support our case, bringing their calm and prepared roles into the case. Allegra Chiang (Year 11) was the Magistrate’s Clerk, who helped the trial run smoothly. 

Fortunately, MLC School was successful, with the Magistrate finding Jordan Taylor guilty, winning both on the verdict of the trial and the overall score. Thank you to all the Year 10 and Year 11 students who helped throughout all meetings, your input is what creates the success of a trial. We are also incredibly grateful to Ms Marsh, Head of Year 9, and Ms Graffen, Head of Senior School, who help coach, organise and make each trial possible.

– Isabelle Millgate
Year 11 Student

(Isabelle served as the solicitor for the trial.)