Archmere Wins Second Place in Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition
Congratulations to the Archmere Mock Trial team! After multiple rounds of competition and a thrilling and closely scored championship round, the team won second place in the Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition, held the first weekend in March. For the second year in a row, the competition was held remotely via video teleconferencing, and the Archmere team competed via Zoom from several locations throughout the Patio.
This fall, students were assigned a case to study and prepare, and during the actual two-day Mock Trial Competition, played the roles of the witnesses and attorneys in that case, competing against seventeen different schools in five rounds. Delaware Supreme Court Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves presided over the championship round while Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss and State Sen. Kyle Evans Gay acted as scoring judges.
Attorney captains Clare O'Dwyer '23 (Prosecution) and Helen Qi '23 (Defense) led their teams through five rounds of competition. The Prosecution competed twice, with witness Mia Gattuso ’23 receiving a Most Effective Witness gavel and attorneys Clare O'Dwyer ’23 and Alicia Chu '24 each receiving a Most Effective Attorney gavel. The Defense competed three times, including the championship round, with Helen Qi ‘23 receiving a Most Effective Attorney gavel for each round (3 in total), and Grace Chen '24 receiving a Most Effective Witness gavel.
Attorney captains Clare O'Dwyer '23 (Prosecution) and Helen Qi '23 (Defense) led their teams through five rounds of competition. The Prosecution competed twice, with witness Mia Gattuso ’23 receiving a Most Effective Witness gavel and attorneys Clare O'Dwyer ’23 and Alicia Chu '24 each receiving a Most Effective Attorney gavel. The Defense competed three times, including the championship round, with Helen Qi ‘23 receiving a Most Effective Attorney gavel for each round (3 in total), and Grace Chen '24 receiving a Most Effective Witness gavel.
The Prosecution side also included attorney Brianna Yang '25 and witnesses Victoria Eastment '24 and Ava Courtney '23, along with team strategy coordinator Gavin Nguyen '24 and timekeeper Samantha Gordon '24. The Defense side included attorneys Grace Koch '24 and Noah Marino '24 and witnesses Charlie Ramsey '25 and Sydney Vakili '23, along with team strategy coordinator Justin Flenner '24 and timekeeper Alexander Bogey '24.
The Archmere team is supervised by Ms. Janna Scheflen with the help of attorney coaches and alumni parents Neilli Walsh, Kristin Giakas, and Bob Whetzel, in addition to current parent Karen Bifferato.
The Archmere team is supervised by Ms. Janna Scheflen with the help of attorney coaches and alumni parents Neilli Walsh, Kristin Giakas, and Bob Whetzel, in addition to current parent Karen Bifferato.
Excerpt from the Delaware Court Official Press Release:
In all, 17 teams from public, private, parochial and charter schools throughout Delaware took part in this year’s two-day event that involved more than 150 students, 17 teacher/coaches, and 35 attorney advisors. The annual statewide competition is sponsored by the Delaware Law Related Education Center (DELREC), and more than 125 members of Delaware’s legal community – including attorneys, paralegals, judges, and court staff – donated their time as judges, bailiffs, and volunteers for the competition.
Students on each team spent two days arguing a simulated criminal case that involved allegations that a doctor was running their practice as an illegal “pill mill” and that the doctor administered opioid pain medication to a patient that resulted in that patient’s death.
Student teams took turns arguing each side of the case during the competition. For example, if on the first round, the students argued the side of the prosecution, they had to argue the side of the defense during the second round. Final verdicts are not rendered in each round – there was no ruling of “guilty” or “not guilty” – instead each team was judged based on their presentation of the case and knowledge of the law.
Student teams presented opening statements, closing arguments, and questioned other students who played witnesses or experts in the case.
Archmere Academy is a private, Catholic, college preparatory co-educational academy,
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
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