LOLHS Mock Trial Team Wins States and Looks Forward to Nationals!

​On Thursday, March 23rd, the Lyme-Old Lyme Mock Trial team won the Connecticut State Championships.  The competition was held at the CT Supreme Court and was judged by Associate Justice Steven Ecker, Associate Justice Joan Alexander, and Appellate Court Judge Hope Seeley. Mock Trial is organized through Civics First, a non-profit organization. According to their website, this year more than 600 students from schools across Connecticut participated in Mock Trials. Forty-six schools with 57 teams competed in state and federal courtrooms with dozens of volunteers from the CT Bar Association who served as judges. It is rare for a public, non-Fairfield County school to win the State, no less one the size of LOLHS.
 
The LOLHS Defense team took on the Plaintiff from Fairfield-Ludlowe HS in a case about voter suppression, “Swift v. Smythe.”  William Barry ‘23 delivered the opening statement in support of the defendant, Sam Smythe, played by Simon Karpinski ‘25. Witnesses included Alexis Grasdock ‘24 and Ada LaConti ‘25.  When Delaney Nelson ’24 delivered her closing argument, the court was silent as she persuaded the room as to why her client was not guilty. Recognized as the best attorney in the State of CT was Rhyleigh Russell ‘23 who began her involvement on the mock trial team as a freshman, serving first as the time keeper before advancing to attorney.  We applaud her dedication to the team and her tremendous growth.  This is a well deserved honor! Next up, coaches Sarah Hylas and Emily Kelly will take the team to Little Rock Arkansas to compete at the HS Mock Trial National Competition in May.  The team will have approximately six weeks to put together a whole new case.  

GO WILDCATS!