History has been made in the courtroom for St. Louis U. High. The SLUH Mock Trial team will be heading to the state competition in April to compete at the second highest level after garnering much success during their second preliminary trial two weeks ago. While it is a huge honor to qualify for the state trial, the success is especially punctuated by the rarity of the occasion.  

“I have never seen a SLUH team like this before,” said team captain senior Carter Fortman of the Varsity trial. “Despite practicing the least we have ever practiced in my tenure, it became obvious that the guys really internalized the lessons from past years. Between dominating our objection battles and playing convincing characters and exuding the confidence that is necessary to perform well, we really showed why we’re a force to be reckoned with even if we’re not the top seed.” 

Heading into this trial, all teams were a bit nervous, especially after having mixed results for their first trial of the season. The criminal case was the same as before, based on the boardgame Clue: defendant Parker Crimson is accused of the first degree murder of billionaire Charles Grey in a stereotypical murder mystery. The Varsity team (SLUH Navy) competed as defense against Crossroads with a sweep, winning all three ballots. The JV-1 team (SLUH White) competed as defense against Jefferson High School, winning two ballots, and the JV-2 team (SLUH Blue) competed as prosecution against Francis Howell North, losing all three ballots.

“I like the energy of being run with teams physically—getting to help get (the team) organized,” said Mock Trial club Moderator Anne Marie Lodholz. “I watched the Navy team this time. I thought (they) did a nice job. It was funny, even earlier in a courtroom—it was funny to watch the trial totally separate. I was watching outside the Campus Ministry room. You’re normally not allowed to say anything,  but it was funny because (the team was) like ‘what are we doing?’ you know, ‘make an objection, think, quiet down, and listen’; it was very interesting from that perspective.”

The SLUH Navy team, led by seniors Fortman and Charlie Albus, quickly took control of the trial from the beginning.  With an opening argument that set the tone of the trial, co-counsel junior Jack Rybak led the two jurors and the judge through a fluid argument highlighting the rushed investigation and the multiple other suspects who had similar motivations to the defendant.

“The opening is really important because it lays the foundation for the case. I am fortunate enough to have a team to help me craft a phenomenal opening statement,” said Rybak. “Overall I think it went well, it really accomplished its goal of telling the jury a story while also establishing our case.”

Yet, it was SLUH’s cross-examination that really won the trial for the team. Best described as being aggressive but composed, all of the attorneys asked difficult questions during their cross-examinations that challenged the witnesses on their stances. The cross-examinations began with Fortman questioning Detective Jaylen Curry. 

“It was in that moment that everything that I had been practicing and learning throughout my four years as a member of the team just clicked,” said Fortman. “My aggression was strong but not potent, my questions were concise but effective, and my demeanor was filled with confidence.” 

After the cross-examinations of Professor Landry Chartreuse by junior Peter James and Butler Arizona Waddlesworth by Albus, the SLUH Navy team brought up their own witnesses, which consisted of a nephew of the deceased Jamie Olive (played by junior Eli Dernlan), the defendant’s private security guard Reece Warren (played by senior Nathan Malawey), and reporter Dakota Forest (played by junior Andrew Harris).  

“It’s much harder to feel like you'd have team synergy when you have to compete completely virtually. Once you're in a room together, and you're facing up against the same team as a group unit, it's much easier to feel like you have high energy and are super prepared to go at it. And so I was a little concerned going into this trial that we wouldn't be able to find that team synergy, but we pulled through, we did really well,” said Malawey. “It’s really nice to finally have a chance to make it to state after four years of doing this.”

This year because of the many students who joined the club, there were three teams in the Mock Trial club this year instead of the usual two.  Despite the lack of experienced members on the other two teams, they also scored well, highlighting the growing depth of the team and predicting a strong future for SLUH Mock Trial.

In April, as a combined group, SLUH will ‘go to court’ against the strongest competition that it has seen this year. Held over Zoom, the team will have an opportunity to compete in a series of trials over a weekend until the winner is decided. As the date looms ahead, the team has been preparing rigorously, hoping that the results will turn out favorably for the ‘U-High’ attorneys.

“We’re more than ready,” said Fortman. “Albus, Malawey, and me want to go out with a bang and to bring the State Championship back to Oakland Avenue.”