On March 1st, 2024, the North Park mock trial team attended the OJEN mock trial competition at the Brampton Courthouse. They competed against 20 other schools regarding the case of a neighbourly dispute that ended with a murder (R v. Lavel).
The day started with a short speech from one of the court judges about the procedures of the mock trials. As the oration came to an end, whispers of excitement and the shuffling of papers could be heard throughout the room. The competition for which students had been training for months had begun!
The first to compete from North Park was the defence counsel, which consisted of the following students: Raj Tulsiani, Jeevan Ghag, Jeevan Dhindsa, Bhavini Aggrawal, and Ryan Sirisena. They were up against the crown counsel from Central Peel Secondary School. Mr. Ghag started with an outstanding opening statement, which was then followed by the direct examination of a psychiatrist (played by Mayank Dua) and an intense cross-examination of Charlie Lavel (played by Arav Kumar), the defendant. The verdict was that Charlie Lavel would be charged with manslaughter rather than second-degree murder; North Park won!
Mr. Sirisena, one of the defence lawyers, voiced that, “it was pretty cool being in the courthouse and taking part in what’s modelled as a real trial. At first, it was nerve-racking but in the end, everything worked out well”.
For the second round, North Park were playing the Crown Counsel against Philip Pocock Catholic School, one of the finalists from the previous year. The following students were competing: Arav Kumar, Drisvet Kaur, Kashika Loomba, Kawaljeet Kaur, Ms. Aggarwal (witness), and Ms. Dhindsa (witness).
Tension could be felt between the sides. The crown started with its enthusiastic opening statement, which was followed by a direct examination of the two witnesses. The crown then cross-examined the defence witness. In a flash, the trial was over, and it was time to hear the verdict. The judge ruled in the crown’s favour, and Charlie was found guilty!
“During the mock trial, it honestly gave a sort of ‘adrenaline rush’ in the sense that being put in the post and adapting to the opposing side was quite exhilarating. The most enjoyable aspect of working as the crown attorney was devising methods to extract information from a witness,” expressed Ms. Kaur.
The North Park mock trial team ended the day by attending the award ceremony, which would announce the four schools that would be advancing. North Park finished in fourth place and is moving on to the next round for the first time in history! On every face, broad smiles and triumphant looks could be seen. What a joyful moment to have experienced again.
Congratulations to Ms. Johnston and the North Park Secondary School mock trial team for their great victory, and don’t forget to return for updates.
THE NORTH STAR 