Youth and Government Senior Mock Trials, by Brian Blair

The Youth and Government program here at VT empowers students by giving them the opportunity to learn about—and experience—government policies and methodologies firsthand. They get to engage in mock trials in different roles to learn how the government works. After a few challenges, they were finally able to convene a team and participate in the mock trials last weekend in Austin. The trip was led by Mr. Blair and Mr. Williamson. Brian Blair gives us an inside perspective on the whole process.

“This past weekend, Mr. Williamson and I took a judicial team to compete at the Youth & Government high school conference. Once again, I find myself beyond impressed with our students and inspired by their performance. What they accomplished is nothing short of amazing.

A judicial team is made up of, at least, five students who split out the duties of attorney and witnesses when we compete in mock trials. Our team was set to be a five-member team but a week-and-a-half prior to the competition, one student had to back out. We were able to get permission to add in a middle school student who has been with YAG for the past three years. Then, the night before we were to leave, another student announced they couldn’t go and that prompted a third student to decide they didn’t want to participate. That left us with a team of three and an uncertain future.

We were able to reach out to Mackenzie Gentry, who was part of the judicial team last year but had decided to focus on theater this year, and she showed an interest in going with us. Thankfully, Mrs. Podany was gracious enough to give her a pass on the final performance of Legally Blonde, and her theater family stepped up to cover her absence.  

So, with a four-person team (rounded out by the two surviving members, Tiffany Miller and Magdalena Loza), we went down to Austin to compete. The new members had to learn the case and prepare to be witnesses, and Tiffany and Magdalena had to rework the cases that had been built so that they would cover all attorney duties on their respective sides. The weight of the task and the pressure of it all should have broken them but they unified in their mission and supported one another throughout the process.

They went toe-to-toe with some of the top judicial teams in the state and were stellar. In their five trials, they regularly received high scores from evaluators, praise from the presiding judges, and the respect of their opposing teams. Mr. Williamson and I sat in the back and beamed with pride watching these young ladies not only survive but succeed.

The competition was fierce and we did not manage to land among the top teams but, considering the obstacles overcome, I’m blown away by what our students achieved.

Did we come home with any awards or medals? No. Were we victorious? Absolutely.” – Brian Blair, AQR Teacher