Spartans won county title in 2002.
By: Lea Kahn
Lawrence High School’s mock trial team cleared its first hurdle Saturday in its march toward the Mercer County Mock Trial Team championship, defeating mock trial teams from three high schools in the preliminary and semifinal rounds.
Now, Lawrence’s mock trial team will take on Steinert High School’s mock trial team Feb. 19 in its quest for the Mercer County Mock Trial championship. The competition is sponsored by the Mercer County Bar Association and the New Jersey Bar Foundation.
Lawrence High School’s squad won the county championship for nine consecutive years, until it was defeated last year by Steinert’s unit.
There were 14 teams at Saturday’s competition. The Feb. 19 match was set up after the Spartan team defeated its slate of competitors Saturday.
In the daylong competition at the Mercer County Courthouse Saturday, the Lawrence team defeated teams from Princeton High School and Trenton Central High School in the morning, and The Lawrenceville School in the afternoon, said attorney Steven Goodell. He coaches the team with Lawrence High School history teacher Mark Rowe.
Each year, the mock trial teams must "try" a case before a panel of judges. This year’s fictitious case involves a high school student who suffered burns in a fire at an illegal casino and bar housed in a barn owned by a 77-year-old retired farmer, Mr. Goodell said.
The casino and bar were constructed by another high school student, without the owner’s knowledge, according to the hypothetical case’s story line. However, the victim is suing the retired farmer for damages, Mr. Goodell said. The victim, or plaintiff, contends the farmer was negligent in allowing the student to build the casino and bar. But the farmer said he did not know about it.
Each mock trial team fields a plaintiff’s attorney or attorneys, and a defense attorney or attorneys. The plaintiff is the one who is suing, and the defense team defends the person or persons who are being sued. Other team members serve as plaintiffs and witnesses.
The first round in the morning against Princeton High School’s team was "very close," Mr. Goodell said. The Princeton High School team was very aggressive, but the Lawrence team of defense attorneys held them off, he said.
"We showed our superiority in cross-examination," Mr. Goodell said of the defense attorneys, portrayed by students Amol Sinha and Jenna Lyle. "We were better prepared to handle Princeton’s (plaintiff team) witnesses. We think well on our feet."
Lawrence High School pitted its plaintiff’s team against Trenton Central High School’s defense team. Mr. Goodell praised the opening and closing statements made by Lawrence mock trial team attorneys Jenna Lyle and James Abouchedid, and the performance of Corrine Beyrouty as the plaintiff or victim.
In the semifinal contest in the afternoon against The Lawrenceville School, Mr. Goodell said the judge commented on the overall poise of the Lawrence High School team. That contest was judged by Mercer County state Superior Court Judge Maryann Bielamowicz.
The 2003 edition of the Lawrence High School Mock Trial Team is made up of James Abouchedid, Corrine Beyrouty, Jan Kushner, Grace Lee, Jenna Lyle, Michael Noveck, Amol Sinha, Shankar Viswanathan and Dimitri Zakharov.

