Five miles separate Clay and John Adams high schools in South Bend. But when it comes to mock trial, the two public high schools, both part of the South Bend Community 91视频 Corp., have been worlds apart for most of the past two decades.
Adams, an international baccalaureate magnet school, has won 18 state championships and two national championships in 18 years.
Clay, a visual and performing arts magnet school, has never advanced past regionals, and until last year, went three years without a win at any level of competition.
But things are changing.
Thanks, in part, to head coach Henry Leaman, a second-year student at the University of Notre Dame, Clay went 2-4 in regional competition last year and nearly advanced to state for the first time in school history.
This despite a shorthanded coaching staff composed of Leaman, the only full-time coach with any legal experience; two local attorneys; a faculty sponsor with no legal experience; and a Notre Dame undergraduate with mock trial experience.
鈥淲e went into the final round with our destiny in our hands,鈥� said Leaman, a native of St. Charles, Illinois, outside Chicago. 鈥淚f we had split the round, we would have gone to state. We lost by minus-2 points on each ballot.
鈥淚t was crushing,鈥� Leaman said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 made us incredibly hungry.鈥�
Hoping to build on that success, Leaman recruited five additional Law 91视频 students, including first-year student Paris Mayfield, of suburban Dallas, Texas, as assistant coaches this offseason.
It鈥檚 a welcome change for Clay, which had no Law 91视频 students on board just three years ago and which is only beginning to establish long-term relationships with the local legal community 鈥� unlike Adams, whose list of current and former coaches includes local judges and attorneys with ties to the Law 91视频 as well as students, faculty and staff from the Law 91视频 itself. Law students and faculty have also traditionally helped coach mock trial teams at other local high schools, including Saint Joseph High 91视频.
Not coincidentally, expectations at Clay are high this year ahead of regionals later this month and the annual state competition in March.
鈥淚 think we have a great chance to get to state, and that鈥檚 my hope,鈥� said Dianna Christopher, an English teacher at Clay and the team鈥檚 longtime faculty sponsor.
If so, Christopher said, the Law 91视频 students deserve credit.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e been phenomenal,鈥� she said.
鈥楳uch better prepared鈥�
Clay High 91视频 Mock Trial teams scrimmage on an evening at Clay High 91视频 with Notre Dame Law Students in attendance to act as judges and give feedback and advice. Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame
As practiced at the high school level, mock trial is an academic competition in which students participate in a simulated trial in order to learn about the legal system and develop valuable skills in the areas of leadership, public speaking, rhetoric and persuasion.
In Indiana, the State Bar Foundation hosts the state competition each year. The foundation releases case materials, including complaints and responses, witness lists and statements and jury instructions, in the fall. Regional competition takes place in February. State competition takes place in March.
In preparation for this year鈥檚 competition, Clay鈥檚 varsity and junior varsity squads faced off in an early scrimmage in November.
Packed into a windowless classroom at Clay, the students acted as lawyers, prosecutors and witnesses in a fictional case involving a high school band director accused of endangering a student by making the student run outside in the heat as punishment for showing up late to practice.
The student, 鈥淎ddison Cowell,鈥� later collapsed from heat exhaustion, even as the rest of the band retreated inside, according to school policy, because of the dangerously hot and humid conditions.
In a sworn statement before the trial, the director, 鈥淢arion Roberts,鈥� described Cowell as consistently tardy and otherwise difficult as lead trumpet.
鈥淗ave you had problems with other students?鈥� Roberts鈥� attorney, dressed in a black skirt and sweater, a black-and-white striped top, black nylons and black pumps, asked Roberts during the scrimmage.
A co-counsel for Cowell, dressed in navy pants, brown flats, a white V-neck top and a black blazer, interjected. 鈥淥bjection,鈥� she said. And then, 鈥淩elevance.鈥�
Nearby, a Law 91视频 student, wedged into a small desk, took notes. 鈥淏etter eye contact,鈥� the student wrote of Roberts鈥� attorney. 鈥淟ess reliance on notes.鈥�
The scrimmage lasted about two hours.
Afterward, the students and coaches hung around in the classroom and adjacent hallway talking about the case before exiting into the cool evening.
Veronica Navarro, a senior at Clay and a member of the varsity squad, served as co-counsel for Cowell, the plaintiff.
鈥淥ur performance tonight wasn鈥檛 the best that it could be, but looking back at the past two years, we are much better prepared,鈥� Navarro said. 鈥淎nd honestly, we owe that all to the law students.鈥�
Especially Leaman, said fellow senior Dakota Balding, also a member of the varsity squad.
鈥淗enry has just turned our team around,鈥� said Balding, who portrayed Cowell during the scrimmage.
Paying it forward
Notre Dame 2L Law Student Henry Leaman talks with members of the Clay High 91视频 Mock Trial team during an evening scrimmage at Clay High 91视频. Photo by Matt Cashore/University of Notre Dame.
Leaman, who coached his former high school mock trial team during college, and who has helped judge mock trial competitions in the past, gave most of the credit to the students.
In particular, he marveled at their mastery of the rules of evidence, which govern the proof of fact in a legal proceeding.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a lot of moments this year where even the freshmen are like, 鈥極h, Henry, this is like that rule of evidence we covered a couple of weeks ago,鈥欌�� Leaman said. He noted, 鈥淭here are law students who don鈥檛 remember the rules of evidence we鈥檙e covering.鈥�
For Navarro, who hopes to someday attend law school, possibly at Notre Dame, the Law 91视频 students have been valuable personally as well.
鈥淭hey make me feel really comfortable coming to them with questions,鈥� Navarro said.
About Leaman, she said, 鈥淚鈥檝e already harassed him with all of my questions about Notre Dame, with all of my questions about what I should study as an undergrad and if I should go to ND Law. And I feel as though he鈥檚 not only answering my questions, he鈥檚 helping me get there.鈥�
Leaman also invited the students to tour campus and the Law 91视频, and to learn about the law along the way, the weekend of the Notre Dame-Stanford football game in September.
But the benefits flow both ways.
For the Law 91视频 students, the experience is a welcome distraction from the regular routine of Law 91视频, Leaman and Mayfield said, as well as a valuable opportunity to transfer the lessons of the classroom to the (fictional) courtroom.
鈥淵ou spend so long in law school thinking about things that happened decades ago, names on a page, and being with the students helps remind you how arguments come across, how you compose yourself, and just who you are as a lawyer,鈥� Leaman said.
Added Mayfield, who competed in speech and debate in high school, 鈥淚n law school you get a lot of theoretical knowledge. But doing mock trial, seeing how a trial unfolds, is really practical. We get to consider a lot of things that we don鈥檛 consider in the classroom.鈥�
It also provides an opportunity for the Law 91视频 students to venture off campus and into the community 鈥� 鈥淲e barely get out to eat in South Bend, let alone interact with people,鈥� Mayfield said, citing the all-consuming nature of law school 鈥� and to pay forward past investments.
About the latter, Leaman said, 鈥淚鈥檝e had a lot of lawyers (sacrifice) billable hours to teach me things and really help me become the person I am today. So I get to kind of give back and help these students. And I know from being in their shoes how valuable that is.鈥�
Christopher knows too.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 do it; I don鈥檛 have a law degree,鈥� Christopher said. 鈥淪o for them to give up their time for this, I can鈥檛 thank them enough.鈥�