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For the third consecutive year, Trinity Episcopal School’s Middle School mock trial team was champion in the North Carolina Bar Foundation’s annual Mock Trial competition.

It is a unique achievement for Trinity’s team to be the winner three years in a row, said Jennifer Bader, Trinity’s mock trial and speech and debate coach.

Trinity’s team of Middle School students competed at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse on Jan. 31 against five other schools from across North Carolina. School teams acted as the prosecution and defense in a felony hit-and-run case and took on the roles of defendant and witnesses.

“I think one thing that sets our team apart is how well our attorneys can argue the rules of evidence and handle objections,” Bader said. “That is something that is very hard to do. They’re arguing the same rules of evidence that are used in real court, which even professional attorneys find hard to argue.”

In preparation for the competition, teams spent months building their cases, crafting their questions for witnesses and their cross examinations, and writing opening statements and closing arguments.

During each round of the competition, the prosecution from one school’s team faces the defense from a different school. Students “have not seen any of the other teams prior to the competition, so you have to be prepared for whatever may come your way,” Bader said.

The verdict? Trinity was the only school in the competition to win each round and top every judge’s ballot.

Not only did the presentation of the case set Trinity’s team apart, Bader said, but also students’ performances on the witness stand. “Our witnesses really take on the character of their role and it shows in their performance,” she said.

Bader began Trinity's mock trial team in 2022 and has been coaching middle and high school mock trial programs for nearly two decades, beginning in California where she and husband Bert coached teams before moving to Charlotte.

“I just love when the light bulb comes on for kids,” she said. “It’s really challenging material, but they really get into it. Once they understand everything and are able to execute (a case), I just love that moment.”

The students on Trinity’s 2024-25 mock trial championship team are: Turner Allen, Andrew Arriola, Charlotte Bloom, Elle Bonner, Oliver Brown, Hampton Bundy, Ansley Hankins, Ethan Lavoie, Anna Glenn McCready, Claire Niemann, Stella Simonsen, India Thompson, Mary Madison Tonsmeire, Aleyah Whitaker, and Sally Zolak.