The case was between the State of Michigan and Hunter Hemmingway, who killed their co-author on the stage. However, things weren’t as simple as they seemed, and it was up to each respective side to prove their point.
With just a couple of weeks before the regional competition for Michigan Mock Trial, the CHS teams have a lot to prepare for: first in priority, making sure everyone is memorized.
“Regionals are in 17 days, and I think we’re pretty prepared, but not yet fully memorized,” said Oliver Jacobson, co-captain of the B team. “Lots of the new lawyers also need to work on their objections a bit more, but that comes with time, and in general, people need to be more confident.”
This year’s case is a criminal case, unlike last year’s civil case. Michigan Mock Trial typically tends to swap between the two each year, with civil cases being about disputes between individuals or organizations while criminal cases allege a violation of criminal law, such as murder. For team members, criminal cases are generally more interesting and fun due to the high stakes and intense subject that takes place.
As for the details, the trial is about Hunter Hemmingway, a co-author of a show named Burr. Burr was set to be licensed to CrystalVision Inc., a Hollywood-based production company. Hemingway had initially rejected the offer, but his co-author, Hollie Wood, had other plans. In the end, Hemmingway accepted the offer.
However, during the night of the dress rehearsal, something terrible happened: During the famous scene of the duel between Hamilton and Burr, Hemingway, portraying Hamilton, shot Wood, who was portraying Burr.
They were supposed to “shoot” each other, just like in the script, with the prop pistols loaded with paper. But that night, Hemmingway’s pistol was loaded with a real bullet instead. Hollie was fatally injured and was later pronounced dead.
With a variety of factors and people involved, it was now up to the prosecution, the state of Michigan, to prove the defense guilty.
“The case is significantly better than last year because last year was a very short and bad case,” Jacobson said. “In my opinion, this year, it’s still a bit short, and I do think it could be improved on in some regards, but it’s definitely a workable case.”
On Feb. 19, 2025, the team held their first official dress rehearsal of the year, fully dressed in suits, ties and dresses. The practice helped not only with delivery but also with nervousness issues.
“I think it gives a lot of people confidence,” said Samuel Austin, co-captain of the A team. “It’s good to be comfortable in the clothes that you’re actually going to wear. And for me, I think it helps get into the mindset of being a lawyer.”
The dress rehearsal went smoothly for both sides. The issues were mostly memorization and delivery, making sure that there was a good mix of coming off as natural but also engaging and fun. The lawyers, in particular, needed to make sure that they knew their rules of evidence like the back of their hands.
This rehearsal also addressed concerns of team members, such as proper attire and courtroom decorum and helped give new witnesses and lawyers a good representation of a trial run-through.
“This year, we really had an emphasis on full decorum,” Austin said. “So that means staying fully in character the whole time, not talking at the council table, making sure that you’re writing everything down, passing notes and using legal language that you would actually be using in court.”
With the competition in just two weeks’ time, everyone has a lot to finalize and to look forward to.
“You know, it’s funny this year because the regional that we are going to have the last three state champions all attending even though there are six or seven regions in the state,” Austin said. “So it’s crazy there’s like a super concentration of very good mock trial teams, and probably whoever wins regionals will win states, but we’re excited.”
