PAL Mock Trials 2014
The P.A.L. National Mock Trial Competition 2014
HFSS TY LAW TEAM AT THE CRIMINAL COURTS OF JUSTICE
5th April 2014
From the barrister’s perspective!
Initially auditioning for the law team is nerve wrecking but you go through it thinking it’s going to be a bit of fun. You don’t realise how much work it’s going to be. We met at lunch times with the law teachers and the law mentors, girls from last year’s law team. At first the idea of giving up your lunch time was not appealing but it turned out to be quite an enjoyable experience. The team bonded through the day long rehearsals and you really get to know the other barristers, witnesses, registrars and the jury on the team. The two cases we did were the DPP vs Frankie Huntington and the DPP vs Ali Lawless. They were two completely different cases as one was a murder case and the other one was an assault case.
The DPP vs Frankie Huntington case is a murder case. We argued the prosecution’s case where we claimed that Frankie ‘allegedly’ murdered his wife in order to get his hands on her large life assurance policy! Saoirse Crowley and Lucy King were the prosecuting barristers, Ashleigh Ward was the registrar and Jodie Moran and Niamh Carey played the witness roles of Sammy Black (the nosey neighbour) and Garda Brown (the homicide expert). Sammy saw Mr Huntington leave his home that morning at 12 o’ clock while out walking her dog. Garda Brown was the first responder to the scene. Both the barristers and witnesses worked hard to ensure there were no gaping holes in our evidence or our argument and that we could in fact, prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that Frankie was guilty! We were victorious and Frankie was indeed found guilty of his wife’s death!
The DPP vs Ali Lawless case was an assault case. We had to argue both the prosecution and the defence case in separate trials during the competition in the Criminal Courts of Justice. The prosecution’s case alleged that Ali attacked Francis De Roiste with a pool cue, in an unprovoked aggressive attack. When we flipped the trial, the defence’s case was that Lawless had felt threatened and feared for her safety with the threat of imminent attack by Ms De Roiste and acted in self-defence. Claudia Smith and Emma Hanlon were the barristers for this case, Leanne Speight, Jodie Moran, Niamh Carey and Rachel Doyle played the witness Francis, Dara, Ali and Patsy. Ashleigh played both the tipstaff and the registrar, Rachel Doyle and Jess Murphy also assumed the role of solicitor. Francis was the alleged victim. Dara was the barwoman working on the night the incident took place. Ali is the defendant charged with assault causing harm!
We were in court against three excellent legal opponent teams. Loretto, Balbriggan, St Mary’s, Drogheda and Cólaiste Iognaid, Galway (last year’s overall competition champions). Our first case was prosecuting Ali Lawless against Loretto Balbriggan. Both teams argued well and Ali was convicted Loreto took a well-deserved win and they were very gracious winners, we made friends in that courtroom that day. There is so much more to the mock trial than a simple win or defeat. The second case was prosecuting Frankie Huntington against St Marys. It was also a good trial to watch but our girls took the charge and HFSS resulting in the HFSS winning both the verdict and the overall trial. Our last case was defending Ali Lawless against Colaiste Iognaid. It was a very close trial, both teams had excellent arguments which they fought tirelessly to put across but in the HFSS took the points needed with outstanding cross-examinations and unshakeable witness portrayals.
It was an amazing experience and one we would definitely recommend. We all felt that we improved our ability to speak in public and think on our feet. It is something we will never forget. You walk into the court and you’re so nervous but once you start your first speech, the adrenalin kicks in and the nerves simply melted away. We felt that we were so confident that we could only think of engaging and successfully battling the opposition.
Mock trial, the intellectual contact sport!
By Claudia Smith and Saoirse Crowley, HFSS TY 8th April 2014
