Creighton Prep Mock Trial Team Preps For Nationals
It wasn’t a surprising move for Ben Cooper to join the mock trial team at Creighton Prep. After all, his father is an attorney.
And it shouldn’t be a surprise that he and his team are headed to the national competition in Little Rock, Arkansas, during May. That’s become a habit for Prep in recent years, with the team having won six of the last seven state titles.
Cooper, a senior who hopes to become an attorney, said he has come to love the people involved in the mock trial team and the program.
“I think the best part is just getting to spent time with the other people on the team,” Cooper said. One of those people is his father, Pat Cooper, who coaches the team with Mark Laughlin, both of whom work at the Fraser Stryker Law Firm.
In Nebraska, the high school mock trial program is administered by the Nebraska Bar Foundation. A case problem is written by the Bar Foundation. That problem includes three witnesses and three attorneys on each side of the case. Every team prepares opening and closing remarks as well as direct and cross examinations for both sides of the case.
August sees the release of the case problem – all the teams in the state work on the same case, which can be civil or criminal – followed by district competition during the fall. The Federal Courthouse in downtown Omaha hosted the competition, which involved 12 teams from ten districts. Two of the districts, including Omaha, sent two teams. The competition was held during the first week of December.
After the first two rounds of the competition, two teams of finalists meet. This year that matchup featured Creighton Prep against Duchesne Academy. That was not unexpected as the teams have met in the finals each of the last four years, and one or the other has won the last nine state championships, with Prep taking the last three.
Laughlin has been involved with the program for several years, starting when his oldest child was a participant, and coaches the Creighton Prep team with Pat Cooper. While two practices a week are not an insignificant commitment, he has found that just being part of it makes for an enjoyable experience.
“Getting to walk alongside them during their journey in the season,” Laughlin said is one benefit. “We work them hard . . . it’s really satisfying to kind of be part of that during the season.”
He finds it especially gratifying to see how the team members develop. Laughlin said those twice weekly practices teach the team members how to make a commitment to each other and how to focus on a project and a process.
“The witnesses grow in getting to know their character . . . learning to think on their feet . . . Staying in character.” Those playing the role of the lawyers learn to think on their feet as well. Soon they become more comfortable with public speaking.
Laughlin added: “We talk about the teamwork and the focus it takes if you want to be the best at something.”
All of that begins when the team holds try-outs at the start of the school year. Much of that involves the would-be participants simply demonstrating their speaking skills by talking about recent experiences.
Prep senior Victor Kaminski is a co-captain with Ben Cooper and is relishing the competition that he said drew him to participate as a freshman: “Because I’m nerdy.”
It’s an experience he has grown to love even more. “For me it’s been the hands-on work with real attorney coaches . . . It makes it fun, and I’ve learned a lot.”
Kaminski said he now plans to pursue a career as an attorney. “Absolutely,” he said, with the first stop an undergraduate degree at Notre Dame and then a top ten law school. Cooper, his teammate, also sees a similar career path.
Before that, the team must prepare for May’s national competition. The national case packet comes out on April 1 with the case story and the roles that will need to be played. The Nebraska champions can expect to be a strong challenger.
Is this the best Prep team yet?
“It’s hard to compare teams,” Laughlin stated. “Every team is different.” There also is the subjective nature of the judging and the expected high level of competition to consider.
But can they win it?
“Absolutely!” Laughlin exclaimed. “This team is definitely one of the teams that can win it.”
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