Witnesses took the stand on Thursday, Dec. 14 to partake in a Community Mock Trial tradition: witness piñata. The activity, held only once or twice a season, is an opportunity for witnesses to test their knowledge of their statements and test new twists, whether that’s a passion for kickboxing or a Southern accent.

“It’s like a pinata, where people take turns hitting it,” Avalon McNew. “Except we’re hitting them with questions instead of sticks.”

The premise is just that. Each witness takes a turn in the hot seat, while the rest of the team rapidly fires off questions. These questions take a variety of forms, some serious, some silly, some leading, some open-ended.

“It’s great for helping them with memorization, but also helping them get into character,” McNew said. “Sometimes we’ll just ask them really silly stuff to see what they say. It’s fun and good for developing the character of the witness.”

As a lawyer, McNew is only responsible for asking questions, while witnesses on the team are under significantly more pressure. Having participated in witness piñata as a witness in a past year, McNew thinks that coming up with fun questions is easier than having to answer them.

Witness piñata is one of the many ways the team prepares for their competitions, the first of which will take place in February, as the team heads to Oakland County for the regional tournament. If their preparation pays off, the team could advance to the state tournament, which is held in March.