Lexington Mock Trial jurists argue culpability in case of exploding candy hidden in eggs
Mock trial is back at Lexington High School.
Competing for the first time in five years, Lexington took part in the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education’s 40th annual Ohio Mock Trial Competition.
Students were competing Friday for a chance to move on to the regional competition, which will take place Feb. 17.
Michelle Olecki returned as Lexington's adviser. She previously worked with the mock trial teams for eight years.
"Some of the freshmen came to me about (reviving) mock trial. Then more students came in," Olecki said.
In all, 19 students from Lexington made up four teams. The other schools at Friday's competition at the Richland County Courthouse were Cloverleaf and Danville.
Ashland, a traditional powerhouse in mock trial, was scheduled to be there, but school was canceled, preventing its teams from competing.
Case details: School misconduct, criminal implications
The 2023 Ohio Mock Trial case examines the complexities of school investigations into incidents of misconduct, specifically when the misconduct may have criminal implications. Fictional defendant Stevie Khan is petitioning the court to suppress incriminating statements he made during questioning by his high school’s dean of students and a school resource officer.
Statements Khan made during the questioning led to a search warrant and his ultimate arrest on charges of criminal trespassing, battery and destruction of school property. Now, Khan is seeking relief, claiming he was in custody during the questioning and was not given his Miranda warnings before the questioning began.
The state is asking the court to deny Khan’s motion, asserting Miranda warnings were not necessary because Khan was never in custody, nor was he questioned by an agent of law enforcement.
In this case, Kahn is accused of putting exploding candy in eggs that were part of an alumni breakfast, ruining the school's biggest fundraiser.
In the morning session, three freshmen and a sophomore filled the court positions for Lexington.
"This is the first year we've had freshmen playing a big role," Olecki said. "They didn't seem too nervous."
Olecki is an English teacher at Lexington. She has had almost all of the mock trial students in class.
"I know these kids really well, so that makes it special," Olecki said.
Still, she said she committed to advising mock trial only this year, noting it requires a lot of time.
A couple of students have court connections
The attorneys were Ben Wiltanger and Kaya Thierlein, both freshmen. Wiltanger has a court connection. He is the grandson of longtime county Common Pleas Judge James Henson.
While Wiltanger said he is not considering a career in law, he thought mock trial sounded "so interesting."
He delivered the opening statement and handled direct examination of the school dean, portrayed by freshman Vynce Hopkins.
"We did our best," Wiltanger said.
Like Wiltanger, sophomore Natalie Badnell has a court connection, actually two of them. She is the daughter of David and Kelly Badnell, a local attorney and county probate judge, respectively.
"They've always talked about their jobs," Natalie said.
She said she is interested in law, as well as science, for potential careers. She portrayed a fellow high school student who testified against Stevie Khan.
Of the mock trial experience, Badnell said, "It was really fun. I was very excited to see the different aspects of the law."
Fellow freshman Kaya Thierlein played the other attorney. He said he's always been interested in law, and that is one career he is considering.
Thierlein said he and his classmates have been practicing for about 20 hours a week the last two or three months.
Vynce Hopkins, another freshman, played the other witness, the school dean.
When asked if he was nervous about taking the stand, he said "extremely."
"This is my first time," Hopkins said. "I've never done any extracurriculars like this, so I thought it would be really fun."
He added he hopes he gets to be an attorney next year.
Andrea Clark, county magistrate, presided over the trial. Fellow magistrate Mackenzie Mayer and local attorney Nick Atterholt served as judges.
When the morning trial concluded, the judges deliberated on how the students fared.
Student attorneys, witnesses get accolades for job well done
"Overall, I think everybody did fantastic," Mayer told the Lexington and Cloverleaf students.
She told Wiltanger he did a "great job" with his opening statement.
"It was really easy for us to follow along," Mayer said.
She said Thierlein's closing argument was "awesome" and said he maintained good eye contact.
Mayer credited Badnell for not giving in when faced with tough questions.
"You held your ground. I liked how you talked (directly) to the judges," Mayer said.
She added Hopkins did a "great job" of being an authority figure in his role as the school dean.
Atterholt praised Lexington and Cloverleaf.
"All four attorneys, you knew your stuff," he said. "My only real critique, your redirects and your re-cross, that's how you can really nail them (witnesses)."
Atterholt said the attorneys missed opportunities to object to their counterparts. He was effusive in his praise of the witnesses.
"All four of you were awesome," Atterholt said.
Badnell was chosen outstanding witness of the trial. Sydney Jones of Cloverleaf was the outstanding attorney.
Other Lexington students taking part were Wesley Holtz, Lydia Schroeder, Jacob Moore, Anna Moore, Darcie Reinhart, Addison Vanderbilt, Gabrielle Wallace, Jenna Lehnhart, Scott Bartlett, Alex Trolian, Brandon Walker, Ellison Hicks, Grant Mentzer, Emma Tingley and Natalie Lehnhart.
mcaudill@gannett.com
419-521-7219
Twitter: @MNJCaudill
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mock Trial: Lexington students argue case of exploding candy in eggs
