Mock Trial Team Battles at Pre-Season Scrimmage
January 26, 2024
With the clock ticking down to their first courtroom showdown, Huntington High School’s defending Suffolk County champion mock trial team engaged in an intra-squad scrimmage this week in the School Heritage Museum.
With the team’s legal advisor Xavier Palacios donning a judge’s black robe and faculty advisors Suzi Biagi and Bryan Outsen sitting nearby, the Blue Devil legal wizards put their strategies to an early test, articulating their plaintiff and defense side arguments, sharpening their objections and general testimony and examining the rules of evidence.
“It’s really hard going against each other especially because our attorneys are the best in the state, but that’s the reason why we have these self-scrimmages; to go against the best and learn from each other and grow better, with most importantly the help and coaching of the very experienced coaches,” David Dax said. “It was a great scrimmage. We touched up on everything and we are definitely one step closer to that state title.”
The Blue Devils open the competitive season at John H. Glenn in early February. Huntington is assigned to the defense side. Home meets will follow with West Islip and Miller Place, before the final regular season meet at Southampton. Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four and county championship rounds will follow. About three dozen high schools are participating in this spring’s mock trial program in Suffolk.
“The scrimmage yesterday was a really good opportunity to see where everyone is at in terms of preparedness and fix our mistakes before going into real competition,” Nina Fascilla said. “We were able to get a grasp on what role fit each teammate best and test out our material on each other in order to get objection and procedural practice. We definitely all saw our hard work start to come together during the trial and got everyone excited for what the upcoming months. Overall we have a strong roster and I can’t wait to see what the season has to come.”
To get involved in the mock trial program see Ms. Biagi or send a message to sbiagi@hufsd.edu.
