For the eleventh time, Seattle Prep Mock Trial made it to Nationals. After winning their ninth consecutive and eleventh overall state championship this year, as well as performing exceptionally at countless other competitions, they rallied and snagged a spot in the top mock trial competition in the U.S., ranking among the top fifteen teams in the country for the seventh time since 2008. They traveled to North Carolina to defend their national title. The national case was released to contenders April first, so the team did not have much time to practice, in comparison to the state case, which they were able to practice since October. According to Mr. McCarthy, “[It was] an interesting, challenging case, on a very timely topic. The topic has to do with excessive use of force by a security guard, and there’s been a lot about excessive use of force by police officers lately, so it’s a very timely topic.”

On the way the national competition works, Mr. McCarthy says, “Teams come in from all over the country, and most of them arrive two days early. We set up scrimmages among ourselves to get ready during those two days that precede the competition, so those are pretty intense because you are going against other state champions to get ready. We don’t run the full trial because you don’t want to give away everything you are doing, but you want to try out your stuff against people who’ve been working as hard to get ready as you have.”

According to Mr. McCarthy, “The scrimmages give you a good sense of who’s at a high level and who’s not, and they help us figure out what stuff of ours needs to be changed so we work really hard on the scrimmage days because after you have a scrimmage you debrief, you figure out what’s working and what’s not, you try to make changes and improve it in the next scrimmage.”

After the scrimmages, the competition ensues. The first round is a draw to determine who competes against whom, then winners play winners and losers play losers.
“As you go through the competition you hope that the teams that you’re competing against get better and better because that’s a sign that you are continuing to win,” says McCarthy. The teams to beat this year were Indiana, California, and Nebraska, who took the National title.

Evan Sarantinos ‘16, went to Nationals for the first time this year, and says, “I’m expecting it to be lots of fun, with lots of good energy, good health, good fun, yeah.”

On his role in Mock trial, he says, “As a witness, I’m here to provide a firsthand testimony regarding a situation that’s being debated at hand, my testimony is going to vary from the other witness’ testimony, and it’s the juror’s duty to find out the truth of it.

Having watched a Mock Trial practice it is easy to see why they have been so successful over the years. Each person calmly and professionally presented their case, sans papers, and it was easy to visualize the courtroom and the suits. They all addressed Mr. McCarthy as, “Your Honor,” and spoke to an invisible jury. The countless trophies and awards, as well as their professional and expert conduct during practice, and their hard work provide more than enough proof that Seattle Prep’s Mock Trial team is among the best of of the best.