While many objections are thrown around in the courtroom, no one can object to the fact that Beaver Area’s Mock Trial teams exceeded expectations at Pitt’s competition January 9 and 10.

The University of Pittsburgh hosts an annual mock trial competition inviting schools from across the state to participate. However, like most events in the age of COVID, changes had to be made to accommodate the safety guidelines.

This year the competition was held entirely over Zoom with over 40 schools participating. Three virtual “courtrooms” were set up on the online platform with several breakout rooms for each trial. The teams were pitted against students from other schools arguing a wrongful death lawsuit.

The case of The Estate of George Romero v. Ash Williams will be the same case taken to county competition. Usually hosted by the Beaver County Bar Association, counties will now be hosted virtually for Beaver County schools by the Philadelphia Bar Association. This arrangement is due to a disagreement over whether the tournament should be held in-person or virtually.

Mason McCarty-Cogis, junior, shared, “I prefer in-person trials; it’s much more immersive. When I’m in the courtroom my mind goes completely blank on everything other than the case. It’s hypnotic.”

The competition at Pitt is viewed by many as an opportunity to practice the case before the cut-throat competitions start. At Pitt, teams cannot be eliminated and the cases are judged by law students rather than practicing attorneys. Counties, however, are more competitive as the best teams then move onto states.

“I was nervous,” confessed McCarty-Cogis, “but I didn’t care as much as I would if it were for a county trial. Those are intense.”

Beaver Area’s teams faced off against schools from across the state. On day one, the A team won Round 1 and lost Round 2. Unfortunately, the B team lost both rounds the first day, but made a comeback winning Rounds 3 and 4 on Sunday. The A team also won Round 3, but sadly lost Round 4.

“Round 2 was probably the hardest,” McCarty-Cogis, who plays witness Chris Redfield stated. “The crossing attorney was difficult, but I think I pushed back enough.”

Congratulations were awarded to several of Beaver Area’s A team members. Jakub Dingo, junior, and Grace Druschel, senior, both scored 18 ranks out of a possible 20. Ryan Appel, senior, scored a perfect 20.