On March 1, the Sunnyslope Mock Trial team qualified for the Arizona State Mock Trial Championships after an intense and highly competitive regional competition.
The competition took place at the Maricopa County Superior Courthouse in Downtown Phoenix.
This is the first time the Mock Trial team will be advancing to a state-level competition.
“It’s just all so surreal, especially considering this is everyone’s first year, and it’s only the second year Sunnyslope has had the program,” Junior Natalie Beute said.
Sunnyslope demonstrated outstanding teamwork, strategy, and composure when competing against challenging opponents from the Phoenix region.
“They’re super proud of themselves because they’re facing a lot of private schools,” Mock Trial Advisor Sarah Levine said.
According to Levine, many private schools have participated in Mock Trial “longer than we have, so to have made it to their level in such a short time is really exciting.”
That being said, the preparation was challenging and took lots of dedication and teamwork.
“As a team, we did a ton of work on our advocate-witness chemistry as well as understanding the theory of the law behind the case,” Senior Peter Buskirk said.
“It’s super important witnesses feel prepared and comfortable on the stand, so we drilled our questionings as a team and made sure there weren’t any areas of ambiguity that could cause confusion,” said Buskirk.
Buskirk played the role of an advocate, which is another term for an attorney in mock trials.
He was also responsible for delivering closing arguments for his team’s cases as well as directing and cross-examining witnesses.
“I spent countless hours pouring over the case, writing the different components of the case, and learning objections,” Buskirk said.
Beute served as a witness for both the defense and the prosecution.
Beute said that the most challenging part was memorizing her personal statement, especially when playing two separate roles.
“I think as a group, our most challenging part was working as a cohesive unit; once we knew our individual roles, it was more difficult to blend them. Although it took time, we eventually got there,” Beute said.
The Slope Mock Trial team is currently preparing for the state competition, which will take place on March 22 at the Sandra Day O’Connor Courthouse.
“I’m super excited for a greater challenge,” Beute said, and she hopes they “can represent Sunnyslope to the best of [their] ability.”
“I’m most excited to see other top tier teams and see their interpretations and arguments… for the case,” Buskirk said.
According to Buskirk, he’s “also so grateful to have another chance to showcase our skills as a team and spend a day with my friends.”
