2007 Logos State Mock Trial Press Release

From the 3 April 2007 edition of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Logos Mock Trial team preps for nationals

Most high school students don't spend their Saturday nights poring over case law.

But the eight students on Logos School's Mock Trial team could barely wait to get their hands on the civil case they will argue at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in May in Dallas.

"We always stay up the night it comes out," said Jeremiah Grauke.

The Logos senior and his teammates received their copy of the case around 9 p.m. and began reading it as a team. Over the next five weeks, they will learn the facts, develop their assigned characters as witnesses, review applicable laws and prepare their questions and opening and closing statements.

"You have to have the rhetoric of it down too," Grauke said.

That means knowing how to word questions and answers and how to present an argument to the jury. A mock trial is like a play or dramatic theater but without the props, make-up or wigs.

Newcomer Cassie Burgess, 18, said she is excited to work on this case and compete at nationals.

"This is probably the most experienced team ever," she said. "I am so thankful to be able to learn from them."

The Logos team has quite a winning streak, taking the state title for the past four years and earning its way to four national championships. Grauke and senior Samuel Dickison have been on the team each year. [DMC: And both of those young men have been to Nationals 4 times each!]

Victoria Trochez and Daniel Ryan have been part of the team for three years, and Brian Kohl and Cecilia Hui each have participated for two years. Burgess and Emily Gray joined this year.

Dickison, 17, said the team's success has gained the attention of classmates.

"It's getting more and more popular," he said.

Half of the senior class even drove to Boise to attend the state competition. They sat in the audience and watched quietly throughout the two-hour case.

"It's not like you can cheer at the competition," Dickison said with a laugh.

Their classmates did murmur the occasional "ooh" when they noticed some of the subtle actions and responses by the team.

Local attorney Greg Dickison, Samuel Dickison's father, coaches the team along with teacher Chris Schlect.

He said the mock trial program at Logos complements the classical Christian eduction that is offered at the private school. The methodology of mock trial coincides with the students' learning methods.

The students begin with memorizing the facts, which represents the grammar stage. They then explore the theories and organization of the case, which represents the logic stage. The students end by communicating their case under the principles of rhetoric.

"It's the culmination of what we learn at Logos. It's the fun way to apply what we learned at school," Burgess said.

As they talked outside of practice, Grauke estimated that he spends at least 10 hours of week preparing for mock trial.

"No more than that," Burgess said.

Samuel Dickison agreed that it's a lot.

"It's a part-time job. You have to see it like that," he said.

Greg Dickison said he and Schlect try to help the students learn to handle the pressure and the expectations.

"We want them to work harder than anybody else. But we want them to have more fun than anybody else," he said. "We try to get it all in their heads so it becomes natural."

Grauke agreed that it is a fun challenge.

"If we do everything right if we take (our coaches') advice and work hard we should bable [be able] to do really, really well at nationals," he said. "If we slack off, we won't. It's up to us."