Stepping into the courtroom, senior and All Team Captain Kaylee Gadepalli felt nervous.
This was the competition that would get the team to Nationals. This was the round that they didn’t make it to last year. The pressure was on.
Mock Trial is a 5-month process where teams group together and prepare their cases. With 12 people on each team, consisting of three attorneys and three witnesses for the plaintiff and defense. The trial happens in three parts: opening statements, witness examinations (direct and cross) and closing statements. Direct examination is when one side asks its own witnesses questions, and cross-examination is when it questions the witnesses on the opposing side.
For Gadepalli, States was a whirlwind. After finishing up in CET’s “9 to 5,” and spending time in New York City for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) journalism convention, she rushed off to Lansing, MI, for Mock Trial.
“It’s just kind of wonderful to be in that moment with all of these people who really care about each other and the case,” Gadepalli said. “ Everything that we’re doing, that we built together over the past few months, has been amazing.”
She has been a part of Mock Trial since her sophomore year, serving as A Team Captain her junior year, and as Full Team Captain this year. Throughout the years, she has been a production and plaintiff attorney, as well as a witness. Notably, she’s won Star Witness three times.
Gadepalli was drawn to Mock Trial because of its unique mix of her interests.
“I like to call it a mix between theater, journalism and law,” Gadepalli said. “Even if you’re not into law, there’s something in it for everyone. It’s all happening live, and you can have a really good unexpected moment where someone makes a really good legal argument, where a witness says something really incredible that you wouldn’t have thought of.”
Although she loved each part of the trial, her favorite part was the coin flip. This helps to decide whether the team’s plaintiff or defense will go first. According to Gadepalli, they wanted to win the flip so that their defense could go first — it would be stronger for the team overall. Their bailiff, Sophomore Thomas Radesky, called tails and won the coin flip.
“What I remember most is him coming back to us yelling, ‘Tails never fails,’” Gadepalli said. “That was just a really good moment before we got into the heated competition of the finals.”
Looking for an extracurricular, Radesky joined Mock Trial this year after Chloe Root, Government and Mock Trial teacher, recommended it to him.
Radesky’s job as a bailiff is to open the court for sessions and swear in the witnesses. Although his preparation for this was minimal, Radesky was very dedicated to doing his best work, as he threw aside his notecard and wowed the judges by memorizing all of his lines.
“Know the rules of evidence, know your objections, know your affidavits,” Radesky said.
The team met four times a week and was very dedicated to their work. One of Radesky’s favorite parts was working beside Sadie Palay, Eli Feng, Walker Ledbetter and Noah Lauring, the lawyers in the trial.
“States is one of those things where it’s a great catalyst for friendships and you really get to know people better,” Radesky said. “It’s sort of a big family. Everyone’s so welcoming, and States was the epitome of that welcoming camaraderie, of us uplifting each other, things that help us win. And we won.”
As nationals come up, the team will be cut down from 12 to 9 people. While Radesky doesn’t know if he will make the cut, he is excited for his future in Mock Trial in the upcoming years, hoping to make a team and advance to Nationals again.
