Algonquin’s Mock Trial brought home their first win of the season on Wednesday, February 25 in a state competition organized by the Mass Bar association involving dozens of schools.

“They won 88 to 75 despite the hard season. The students worked really hard and got a win,” club advisor and Latin teacher Sean Staines said.

Mock trial is an after school club that meets every Wednesday under the advisement of Staines in room H111.

“[Members of the club] reenact court cases, so people are lawyers, witness, there’s a judge. We go to a courtroom and try to act out the court case and understand how attorneys work,” member Lohitha Madhireddy said.

The club is open to anyone. “We have students who have all sorts of interests, all sorts of talents,” Staines said.

Madhireddy said, “Every year we get a new case file. In the case file there are afinidades written by a committee of lawyers who come together who do this for high school students. The team has been preparing since the fall for their debates this year. We start in October/November when we get the cases. “

This year’s case was about a grandfather who murdered his son.  Students assign roles to play during the debate.

“It’s a really great educational experience for the kids but also a way of getting them into real courthouses working with trials based on real events,” Staines said. “So it’s like they’re actually attorneys in a courthouse putting on a trial.”

“The cases are always either a criminal case or by the Commonwealth,” sophomore Gabrielle Thompson.

The club prepares for three preprimary cases a year and can work to place in state or national debates.