NEARLY A HUNDRED middle school students appeared in Rockingham County Superior Court on Friday [March 16]. Jim Ellis of Hampton, father of one of the youths, said in a pretrial interview, "Hopefully, they’ll never be here again."

Students from Sacred Heart School and Stratham Cooperative Middle School were just two of 30 New Hampshire schools vying to win their cases in the 15th annual New Hampshire Bar Association Mock Trial Competition. The mock trials were developed to help students learn more about the legal system, without their getting in trouble.

Needless to say, students didn’t have time for anything extracurricular since they were first handed the 39-page mock trial civil case of Alex Strusa v. New Concord School District in November 2000. The fictitious case was written by Mock Trial Committee Chair Andrew Prolman of the Nashua law firm Prunier & Leonard.

The case involved breach of contract and defamation issues in a high school setting. It centered on the school’s inadvertent disclosure of Alex Strusa’s violation of the institution’s no-tolerance drug policy and subsequent suspension which, in turn, resulted in rescinded athletic scholarship offers from six colleges. The school’s disclosure violated a binding contract it signed after Strusa appealed her suspension.

David Gocklin, social studies department chair at Stratham Cooperative School, and colleague Lisa Chagnon helped participating students prepare for the case through course work related to criminal versus civil cases and trial procedures. After-school meetings every Wednesday before the trial helped students to "think on their feet," Gocklin said.

Nodding toward the plaintiff and defendant teams rising for the Honorable Judge James T. Boffetti upon the court bailiff’s request, Gocklin said, "This is hands-on. This is real-world stuff."

Steven Briden of Exeter, a student at Stratham Cooperative, said he and his classmates treated the case with the seriousness required in tackling a real case.

The biggest challenge the team faced, according to Briden, was to "coordinate the attorneys and witnesses to ensure that there were no gaps in the testimony." The eighth-grader added that mock trial was more than a school assignment.

"I’ve always liked watching law programs on TV and when I grow up I think I’d like to be a lawyer," said Briden, who cited "Law & Order" and "Ed" as his favorite court drama programs.

Danielle Yob of Epping, a student at Sacred Heart School, said her team’s performance depended on the two sets of scores.

"Each mock trial team has to present the case from both points of view," explained Dan Wise, communications director of the NH Bar Association. "They learn that there’s more than two sides to any case."

Wise added that it teaches students to search for the truth while protecting the rights of citizens.

Will Riley of Hampton, a student at Sacred Heart School, said that learning proper courtroom etiquette and jargon wasn’t easy. Fellow classmate Steve Lago of Seabrook said the team received help from instructor-coach Linda Merchant and attorney-coach Mike Feniger, one of the more than 100 NH Bar Association Mock Trial volunteers.

Despite months of preparation, Lago did admit, "When you go up against another school, it’s a lot harder because you don’t know what to expect from the witnesses."

James T. Boffetti, who acted as one of the mock trial presiding judges and is the real-life managing attorney for NH Public Defender of Rockingham County, said he was impressed with the amount of preparation and skills all of the students demonstrated on Friday.

"They were very good advocates," Boffetti said in a post-competition interview, referring to the students’analytical, research and public-speaking skills.

Patricia White, an assistant director of career services with the Franklin Pierce Law Center, served as a "juror" (scoring judge) at the proceeding. White told students she was impressed with their level of confidence and professionalism. She said that from previous experience as a practicing attorney, she knows that having poise is not an easy feat when "your knees are shaking"and "butterflies are going."

Lago said he gained something invaluable from the mock trial: "respect for lawyers because it’s a lot harder than it looks," he said.

Amherst and Milford emerged as the victors from Friday’s regional matches at the Superior Court. The two schools will compete in the state championship on March 24, at Hillsborough County Superior Court-North in Manchester.

"As I look at it, we’re all winners," said Lisa Chagnon, a Social Studies and US History teacher from Stratham Cooperative. "This is without a doubt a confidence builder."

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