Three MMI Preparatory School students placed in the top ten during the recent Monroe County Mock Trial Invitational at Pocono Mountain West High School. Junior Andrew Decker topped 78 other individuals to take the title of Best Witness and senior Hunter O’Clair finished among the top 10 witnesses. Senior George Palermo placed in the top 10 for attorneys.
A total of 26 MMI students competed in the Mock Trial Invitational, which sees students take on various roles in a fictitious case, including attorney, witness, plaintiff, defendant, and timekeeper.
The team of Alyssa Sweda, Amanda Kalada-Kania, Andrew Decker, Brian Payne, Lauren Herman, Daniel DeMelfi, Hunter O’Clair, John Malay, Mahad Muhammad, Marc Lobitz, Merci Centrella, Morgan Long, and Jakob Schwabe finished with the second highest point score in the competition and had a record of two wins and two losses. The team of Wesley Guarneri, George Palermo, Natalie Graham, Jessica McClellan, Carter Frask, Alexis Zola, Katherine Pinto, Josiah Pacchioli, Kelisa Hysenbegasi, Emily Ryan, Hiba Muhammad, Samantha Sparich, and Anna Haber finished the competition with three wins and just one loss.
This year’s case was the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs Kit Snow, a case that was written specifically for the 2017 Mock Trial Invitational. The case revolved around the death of Madison Walker, whose cause of death was determined to be heart failure brought on by a heroin overdose. The defendant in the case was charged with drug delivery resulting in death, possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, and causation in the death of Madison Walker.
D. Scott Wiggins, MMI Head of School and Mock Trial adviser, said, “I’m proud of the students and how they performed. This invitational helps to prepare us for the upcoming PA State Mock Trial Competition and provides good feedback on areas where improvement is needed.”
MMI will participate in the PA State Mock Trial Competition in February.
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