Courting Success Again: LP's Mock Trial Team Aims for States

Mia Frank, the director of LP's Pre-Law and the Arts Department, hopes to once again lead the school mock trial team back to state competition.

Last year, Lincoln Park’s Mock Trial team had their most successful season ever, making it to the state semifinals at Harrisburg and finishing in the Final Four in the state. Now the team is gearing up for another run at the title.

On Tuesday, the Mock Trial team will travel to Erie for the regional mock trial competition. If they win, they’ll be on their way back to Harrisburg.

Mia Frank, the director of Lincoln Park’s Pre-Law and the Arts Department and the sponsor of the Mock Trial team, said, “We only lost three seniors, so it wasn’t too hard. Our younger people really stepped up.”

Even though the team lost some experienced members, the newer students worked really hard to fill in those gaps. The team practices all the time, doing mini-mock trials to build their skills. 

“We practice all the time, and yes, we always practice against each other,” Frank explained. The team puts in tons of effort because mock trials are a lot of work—probably one of the most challenging activities that pre-law students do all year. 

The Pennsylvania Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division Mock Trial Competition is a big deal. Nearly 260 high school teams across Pennsylvania participate. For Tuesday’s regional trial, LP's will be going against a team from Crawford County. If they win, Lincoln Park's team will be named the regional champs and get to go to the state finals at the end of the month. 

Addi Lowe, a junior from Beaver, is in her second year on the team. Lowe said, “Mock trial is basically a high school competition where you compete in a trial against other high schools in either a criminal or civil case.

“This year’s case is about a girl named Bo Bridger, who became incapacitated from a parasite called trichinosis,” added Lowe. “Her parents [are] suing Dr. Colter’s office for medical malpractice because they couldn’t diagnose Bo in time.”

Lowe explains that each team has three attorneys and three witnesses. She will be a witness herself, and her job is to memorize her witness statement and testify during the trial. During the trial, attorneys will ask her questions, and she’ll have to answer based on what she memorized. 

Lowe admitted, “This year has been going pretty well, considering we lost three seniors last year: two attorneys and one witness. Most of us are either starting this year or did a trial last year, but everyone has learned how to compete in mock trials.”

Perci Strohmeyer, a sophomore pre-law major from Avella, who acts as a witness,  also shared how the season has gone for her. 

Strohmeyer said, “I definitely was sitting there after a few trials thinking we were going to lose and not move any further, but we have very much improved from our first trial this year, and I’m excited.” She also mentioned feeling a mix of nerves and excitement about the upcoming trial, knowing it’s an important step toward going to the state competition.

Lowe also said she’s both excited and nervous about the upcoming trial. 

“When we first got the case, we were still figuring out our roles, and that was probably the biggest turning point so far,” she said. “Now, as we prepare for regional and maybe state trials, we’re making last-minute decisions to try and make our team as good as possible.” She admitted that the season hasn’t been perfect, but everyone has worked together and “rolled with the punches,” making it a great experience overall.

Mrs. Frank agreed, saying that the Mock Trial team has gelled just in time for higher-level competition.

“I think we are well-prepared for regionals this year,” she said, “so we have a good shot at making it back to States again.”

Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school located in Midland, PA, and open to all Pennsylvania families. Students grades 7-12 are bused from nearly 90 different school districts to study the arts concentration of their choice: theatre, writing and publishing, media arts, health science and the arts, music, dance, and pre-law and the arts.

For more information, visit lppacs.org or contact: admissions@lppacs.org