BY KATIE ZEMAITIS
Staff Writer

Safety and security issues raised by drones are frequently in the news, and they were at the heart of the mock trial team’s case this year.
Each year, team members read a legal case, formulate questions, and make arguments against other participating Allegheny County schools.
“It’s a good way of preparing if you want to go into law,” junior Audrey Eisel said.
This year the students took on a civil court case. After a man is hit and paralyzed by a drone, his insurance refuses to pay his medical bills, claiming that it’s a violation of their general contract.
“The issue in the case was complex and the law is hard for veteran lawyers to digest and explain, but the team had a tremendous grasp on the concepts, the law, and their presentations,” history teacher and sponsor Adam Foote said.
The team lost in close competitions on Feb. 22 and 29, ending its season.
“We still performed really well, and we put up a good fight,” sophomore Claire Plunkett said.
Much of the value of the program, though, comes in the extensive preparation work that students complete. Getting feedback from actual lawyers helped the team members develop their skills.
“With mock trial, students are conducting their cases in front of a real judge, presenting to a jury of veteran lawyers, and doing it all in a real courtroom,” Foote said
After history teacher Kelly O’Brien was injured, Foote took control of the team. Foote had previously directed the team, but when he stepped down to spend more time with his family, O’Brien took over.
“When she got injured and wasn’t in school, it just wouldn’t be fair to the students who had already invested hours of their time to see it just disappear,” Foote said.
In mock trial competitions, each school has a prosecution and a defense team, and each competes against a team from another school. Since there are only seven members of the Baldwin team, most had roles on both sides of the case.
“It’s a group of aspiring lawyers. They are all leaders — loud and argumentative, but in a good way,” Foote said.
Junior Jaycee Revo served as a lawyer as well as a witness for the defense.
“Going against other schools is an obstacle. Not knowing the other team’s angle makes the trial more difficult,” Revo said. Eisel agreed.
“You have to have a prepared back-up for everything,” Eisel said.