Mock Trial Defense Wins Second Trial

by Shir Levenson, SSLI '26 

Yesterday, students on the Mock Trial defense team won their trial against Roslyn High School. A few weeks ago, Schechter’s prosecution won their trial against Mineola, so yesterday's victory continued the team's winning streak.

The team was thrilled after all their hard work paid off! (S. Herbst)

This trial was a part of the first round, where teams from various Long Island schools competed. The winners of their respective trials will proceed to round two for further trials. Each student on the team had a different part, divided between lawyers and witnesses.

Junior Elisha Herbst, a lawyer on Schechter’s Mock Trial team, explained that, “Our team did very well, overall. The lawyers had good questions, objections, and responses to objections. All of the witnesses responded well to both the direct and cross examinations.”

An important part of the trial are the opening and closing statements, where the lawyers from each team have a chance to tell their side's story. Herbst was proud to report that “the opening statement by Ellie [Strachan] and the closing statement by Carly [Smith] were both very strong and were definitely a highlight of the trial.”

Jordan Bitton, a sophmore, acted as a witness in the case. Bitton played the character of Leslie Neal, the defendant’s employee. Bitton shared that, before the trial, “I was nervous that I would forget something, but I practiced a lot and remembered all of my information.” At the end, he felt “that all of our hard work and practice was all worth it, and we really put all our effort into this trial.”

Yesterday's trial posed increased stress for the team because, unfortunately, the Schechter student who had prepared to play Ryan Casey was sick. Samson Mildron, a junior, and not a member of the team originally, became the team's saving grace. Mildron learned the material in less than a day and jumped in to fill the part.

Herbst shared, “On behalf of the whole Mock Trial team, we thank Samson for stepping in … and learning the entire case and the role of Ryan Casey in less than five hours. We are very impressed and appreciate that he voluntarily took this responsibility.”

Since both SSLI’s prosecution and defense teams won their respective trials, Schechter moves on to round two of the competition. Sophomore Corey Flyer, who portrayed the defendant, Lindsay Gordon, in the trial, is looking forward to the future matches. Flyer concluded, “Each witness and lawyer plays a vital role in our success … [and] after yesterday’s win, I’m extremely confident and excited for our future rounds.”

Shir Levenson is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2022. Shir is currently a sophomore at Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: slevenson26@schechterli.org