This year, it was cold-blooded murder. A restaurant owner frozen to death in her own freezer. The key and only witness from the mob. A gambler, $200,000 in debt to a local loan shark. This year’s case has brought a few interesting things to Michigan’s High School Mock Trial.

This year also marks the first in-person competition since the beginning of the pandemic. After advancing to the State competition in 2020, the season was cut short. Chloe Root, a CHS history teacher and coach of the Mock Trial Team, remembers visiting the University of Michigan Museum of Art back in 2020 in preparation for the State competition.

“[It] was really cool because they had this art exhibit that was set up like a courtroom,” Root said. “Part of their performance art was that you were going to get to actually put on a trial there. It was really neat.”

That was the last time many members — all of whom are now seniors — were in a real courtroom. Since then, Mock Trial competitions have been held through Zoom — until now.

After months of preparation, the CHS teams (Crimson and Navy) had one more practice before heading to the regional competition: an in-court run-through.

The practice was the first time many team members had ever been in a courtroom.

“It was kind of nerve-wracking because it’s a very formal building,” said Indigo Guikema, defense lawyer and Navy team co-captain. “It [was] just surreal to actually be in a court.”

Washtenaw and Wayne Counties’ regional competition was held at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit. Teams went through three rounds, switching between defense and prosecution.

“It was so much better,” Guikema said. “[When it was] online, you’re just sitting there and you don’t actually have to stand up to make your objections, you can’t look the jury in the eye, you can’t walk around the well of the court or talk to your witness.”

With the return to in-person trials, Root noticed a vast improvement in the interactions between competitors. Billie Ochberg, an acting coach who helps competitors develop their characters and speaking style, did too.

“When the lawyers are questioning their own witnesses, they can watch actively, listen, [and] respond and it’s just more engaging,” Ochberg said. “I was just really proud how they listened to each other and really thought on their feet.”

For the teams from Washtenaw and Wayne, two awards were available: an honorable mention and the first place award, which would bump that team into the state competition.

Community High School brought home both awards.

For their strong performances, Team Navy won an honorable mention. With the first-place award, the Crimson team will advance into the state tournament.

Taking place in March, the state tournament will see all the teams who won their regional competitions. With another month ahead until the competition, the CHS teams will continue their practice of this year’s case revolving around loan sharks and the mob; a bankrupted restaurant; a freezer and a gambler.