By Hannah Lazarte & Katie Smathers
Disclaimer: Hannah Lazarte and Katie Smathers are both part of Mock Trial.
Coming back for round two, Sara Saadeh is back as the teacher advisor for Mock Trial. She first started advising in 2007 with Minnie Ziegler before stepping down because of the time commitment. With a new opening after Julie Chaicharee and Jeremy Robinson resigned after three years, she banged her gavel at the opportunity.
Mock Trial is a club that simulates a real court with students taking the roles of lawyers, witnesses, bailiffs and clerks. Together, they work together to present a fictional case while developing their public speaking and teamworking skills.
“I always in my heart wanted to come back to Mock Trial at some point and I thought, ‘When the timing is right, maybe the opportunity will present itself,’” Saadeh said.
While she was gone, Mock Trial followed her. In January 2025, she served as part of jury duty and was named the foreperson. She had to lead discussions, organize the jury and insure everyone felt heard.
“The whole time, I was thinking about Mock Trial,” Saadeh said.
Although it’s been a long time since her return, some things stay the same. Funding, for instance, is always an issue. It’s difficult and expensive to find someone to drive a van that transports everyone to the courtroom.
In addition, timing is a big issue. Not everyone has the time to commit to mock trial meetings because of it’s lengthy timeframe.
With all the challenges, Saadeh still overcomes them and has future plans for the club and the fall season.
“I would love to see us compete in round six. Our first four rounds are guaranteed, so we will compete four times for sure,” Saadeh said. “After that, it’s playoffs and sudden elimination. So if we can make it to round six, I would be really proud of us.”
The spring season is still undecided but until then, Saadeh is excited to be the teacher advisor for Mock Trial.
This article was updated on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 8:42 P.M. to correct the mispelling of “gavel” in the title and photo caption.
