The Moorpark College Mock Trial team was riding a wave of success two years into its founding, qualifying to the American Mock Trial Association Open Round Championship Series in 2019 before COVID-19 rudely stopped its momentum. Two years post-pandemic, the team has returned to competition. And now, the program is looking for students to join its 2024-2025 team.

Initially, not many students, let alone faculty, were aware of Mock Trial, including Lee Ballestero, a Moorpark College political science professor who teaches American Government and National, State and Local Politics. Today, Ballestero serves as faculty advisor to the club.

“Mock Trial began in fall 2017 when a student walked into my office, asking if I would be willing to advise something called Mock Trial,” recalls Ballestero. “I was only vaguely aware of Mock Trial and had no real exposure to it as a faculty member or a student. I wasn’t that much of a help that first year as I had no idea how to advise a competitive team, but after that first competition, I was hooked.”

Think “Law & Order,” but without the drama. A team of six to ten students compete in a simulated trial based on a fictional civil or criminal case selected by the AMTA. The team spends the bulk of fall preparing to argue the plaintiff and prosecution sides of the case. A trial will include opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations and closing arguments.

Pre-competition scrimmages take place in fall. Teams can compete in up to four rounds of competition: invitationals in the fall, regionals in February, ORCS and nationals in March. The team faces off against members of the opposing team. Judges award points based on trial day performance. The top-scoring teams advance to the next round of competition.

All members of a team—and there can be more than one team per college-participate in competition. Half will serve as witnesses while the other half act as attorneys.

“If you can’t compete, the team will lose as there are no alternates allowed in competition,” explains Ballestero. “You will put in more hours than you think you will, all because you are excited about competing, and you don’t want to let your team down.”

Moorpark College is one of five community colleges within the state California and the first in Ventura County to compete in Mock Trial. The 2023-2024 team has nine members, and at its March 4 information meeting, Ballestero and Mock Trial club president Isabella Solis hoped to attract more students to its 2024-2025 team.

Solis, a second-year political science major, competed Mock Trial for three years at the high school level. She enjoyed that experience so much that she jumped at the chance to lead a collegiate team. As club president, Solis is quick to highlight that anyone with an interest can join Mock Trial. In fact, only she and one other member of the team have had prior Mock Trial experience.

“It is a common misconception that you have to be interested in law to join, but prospective team members can belong to any area of interest,” says Solis. “It’s not required that everyone have prior experience.”

Participants run the gamut of majors, from political science and sociology to theatre arts. Second-year sociology major Jozy Parshall, secretary of this year’s team and a “witness” in competition, originally joined Mock Trial to meet new people and learn about law. Parshall was surprised by what the program offered.

“Mock Trial teaches the legal system in a unique and hands-on way,” says Parshall. “I’ve learned about the importance of teamwork and that immersing yourself in new activities is enriching.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Solis, who believes that some of the most enjoyable aspects of Mock Trial center around the team.

“The team spirit appeals to me the most,” says Solis. “Mock Trial is often more ‘mock’ than ‘trial.’ What really adds to the experience is the people that you get to work and compete with. It is really great to connect with everyone in this way since we don’t live on campus and all have different schedules. It shows me that I can really find my community at Moorpark.”

Ballestero encourages any student interested in law, performance or strengthening public speaking and analytical skills to consider Mock Trial.

“Not only do students benefit with developing critical thinking skills, public speaking skills and learning to think on their feet, but they also benefit from joining a team and working closely with peers throughout the year,” says Ballestero.

The Mock Trial team participated in a scrimmage against CSUN in January and in regionals against Stanford, UCLA and ASU in February. While the team did not advance to ORCS, each participant did learn something about themselves. Solis felt that the team was more than competitive with its university counterparts.

“What I want students to know is that Mock Trial is a unique college opportunity,” says Ballestero. “As a community college, we are competing against university teams where many of their members have four years of experience. This is an amazing opportunity to test and grow your skills and meet people from their universities/teams and join their team when you transfer. Moorpark College’s support for MT, including Associated Students and the Business, Child Development and Student Engagement Division has been amazing.”

Students interested in learning more about the Moorpark College Mock Trial program can email Lee Ballestero at [email protected].