From Sept. 27-29, the Mercer Island Mock Trial team traveled to Philadelphia to participate in the annual Empire Mock Trial Competition. Though the team did not place, they felt it was still a great learning experience.

Mock Trial is a law-based club where teams receive a court case and argue both sides, competing against other schools. It is a team-based activity that involves acting as attorneys and witnesses to simulate a real courtroom trial. Participants are judged by government official judges on a scale of one to ten on their acting.

“Preparation went well, we felt a bit unprepared going to some of the practices before going on the trip; however, after the practices, we felt a bit more concrete,” junior captain Inaya Chandrakant said.

Despite feeling a bit unprepared before the trip, the Mock Trial team performed well, earning many nominations and perfect scores for their performances. “Every year, we get sent to the eastern United States,” Chandrakant said. “We get to compete against different teams from across the world.”

Though many teams are from different parts of the United States, there are also teams from other countries. “This year, we had teams from South Korea, Canada and all across the United States,” Chandrakant said. “It was interesting to see how they viewed the case in their perspectives.”

For Chandrakant, an enjoyable part of Mock Trial is “being able to work together as a team to find all the different angles and perspectives.”

The team looks forward to participating in this competition next year as well.