OCEAN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY As anxious observers filed into Historic Courtroom 1 of the Ocean County Courthouse, there was a tangible buzz of excitement in the air. Two teams had battled fiercely in the county preliminary and semi-final rounds the previous Saturday, and they were now facing one another for the coveted title: Ocean County Mock Trial Champions. After a riveting two-hour trial, presided over by the Honorable Francis Hodgson and the Honorable Craig Wellerson, the prosecution team from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES) emerged victorious over Brick Memorial’s defense.

The MATES mock trial team has competed for eighteen years in the Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition sponsored by the NJ State Bar Foundation. This year’s case involved a swatting incident, a gaming club, and a defendant–Devon Ransom–who may or may not have made the 9-1-1 call from the Metro Perk coffee shop. Students, led by mock trial coach MATES Instructor Jennifer Hudak, take on the roles of attorneys and witnesses and must present the most compelling litigation to progress through rounds of competition.

In total, the team advanced through four rounds of the competition to qualify for the Regional Playoffs. MATES students who participated are: prosecuting attorneys Isabella Sadsad and Dugan Tunney; defense attorneys Kealia Smith and Aiden Boehler; prosecution witnesses Colton Rahn, Tia Thomas, and Alexandra Kanterezhi-Gatto; and defense witnesses Kevin Nichols, Erin Morrisey, Ava Linton, and Tyler Steinbrunn.

The NJ State Bar Foundation promotes two additional aspects of the competition: the Courtroom Artist Competition and the Courtroom New Reporter Competition. MATES has had student artists participate for the past eleven years, and this is the first year that students have taken part as courtroom reporters. This year’s artists were Nicole Palonnaya, Rachel Hellinger, Kataluna Buenvenida, and Tia Thomas. Student reporters were Amanda Mastrola and Emma Delhaas. In total, the students submitted over eleven sketches and two articles that will be critiqued by professionals and earn recognition ranging from Honorable Mention to First Place in the state (with an invitation to sketch or report at the national competition in Des Moines, Iowa).

The team is extremely proud of its accomplishment, and after also dominating two single-elimination rounds in the Regional Playoffs, is currently working tirelessly to prepare for the Regional Finals to be held at the NJ Law Center in New Brunswick on March 18th. Coach Hudak would like to thank the students, staff, and administration for all their support over the years. A special thank you goes out to Attorney Coaches Bill Wright and Sasha Naro who work with the student attorneys and witnesses to perfect their courtroom skills. This truly has been a team effort!