Back in September, a group of Hillel Yeshiva High School students met to discuss the 2009 New Jersey Mock Trial Competition case. The competition is open to all high schools in the state. The program gives students the opportunity to learn about New Jersey’s laws. It also allows students to participate in actual court room situations where they assume the roles of lawyers, witnesses, and members of the jury.
This year’s case involved a record company suing a high school student for stealing copyrighted songs off the Internet. The record company also accused the student of giving away these songs without compensating the company. Each participating school must present both sides of the case, including witnesses and jury members.
The students journeyed to the Monmouth County Court House in Freehold, NJ, where Jeff Epstein and David Winitsky portrayed defense attorneys. They displayed an immense knowledge of the judiciary system, questioning both defense and plaintiff witnesses. They did a great job trying to prove to the jury that the student, played by Mordechai Labaton, was innocent of any wrongdoing. Both Jeff and David had the chance to question two witnesses that supported the plaintiff. The witnesses were played by Daniel Newman and Seth Deneroff. The judge who presided over the case congratulated everyone for their style, knowledge and professionalism.
On the second day of the trial, the record company was represented by attorneys Andrew Gilson and Daniel Levi. They were able to explain the problems facing the industry today by questioning Saul Zalta, a recording company owner. The two witnesses in the case were Leon Cohen and Ike Newman who said, “it was such a great courtroom experience and so much fun impersonating a computer scientist.”
At the end of the trial, the judge in the case told the students from Hillel that he felt like he was participating in an actual trial because of their passion and competence. He said that it was the best performance he has seen in all his years of participating in the program.
Hillel was able to supply two sets of juries to the program. The students who participated were Sian Goldofsky, Fran Berley, Sarah Schneider, Alyssa Ezon, Tom Cohn and Noury Chemtob.
On the bus ride home, the students analyzed their performances and started talking about next year’s competition. It is a program that takes a lot of time, thought and commitment, but the results are well worth it. All who participated said it was a fantastic experience. The students were proud of both their individual achievements and how they represented Hillel Yeshiva.
Mr. Michael English, faculty advisor to the program, summed up the experience with the following statement: “This program offers students the opportunity to understand legal procedures from the textbook to the courtroom. The students’ commitment and enthusiasm were evident in their performance and by the discussion of their willingness to participate in next year’s program.”
