Mock Trial Club began their case study preparation towards a mock trial in Room 2716 during Cardinal Hour on Jan. 30. The club discussed a summer legal academy opportunity and started the first part of their State of Arizona v. Hollis Trimble case study.
The case the club discussed is made up, and was one of many cases used in previous high school mock trial competitions. In this meeting, members volunteered to play roles such as prosecution, defense, defendant, victim, etc., in which they received a paper packet containing their respective role's quotes. In future meetings, characters who are part of the persecution and defense will split up, and each person will work on their arguments and opening or closing statements. The club will host an actual mock trial at a date to be determined soon.
In the club's last meeting on Jan. 16, members discussed the different fields of law, alternate career paths for lawyers and went over the discrepancies in a movie courtroom scene. In other meetings, members have gone over the steps of a mock trial.
Senior, Mock Trial Club founder and President Skylar Campbell was inspired to start the club this school year after she did the law track of Envision Law summer camp over the past summer.
"I learned all about the law and we did mock trials in the camp," Campbell said. "I noticed that it was something I really liked doing, but we didn't have something like that at Bellaire. I really wanted to bring that to life, and especially to inspire other people to potentially go into law."
Campbell said that she hopes people were interested in the internship opportunity she discussed with them, and that members will be encouraged to pursue their interests in law.
"I hope this club continues, and that they keep putting on mock trials and encouraging the next generations to go into law," Campbell said. "That's what I want to do."
Before deciding to be a doctor, senior and Vice President Nina Nguyen joined the club because she used to be "really interested" in crime cases, and watched Unsolved Mysteries videos daily.
"I'm so excited to debate about the case," Nguyen said. "I hope that through this club I can learn more about my rights and also how to protect myself physically and legally. I'm not much of a speaker or anything, but I hope that through the club, I can look at these experiences that people have, and learn a thing or two to not repeat history. Overall, I just hope people have a good time."
This meeting was the first time that member and senior Melissa Chavez attended a Mock Trial Club meeting. She said she is most excited to gain experience for her law major.
"I love law," Chavez said. "The past couple of meetings I wasn't able to attend, so when I heard about this meeting and that they were going to start their first case study, I was like, ‘this is awesome, I have to be there.’"
Chavez said that it is a dream of hers to become a lawyer, and that she has imagined herself in a courtroom as her career since middle school.
"My passion also comes from the fact that I believe that if people commit crimes or do bad things, they should be punished," Chavez said. "That's why I want to be a prosecutor."
From the meeting, Chavez said that she's starting to get a feel of what a case can look like with the evidence and transcripts.
"You have this idea of what law can be and what it can look like, but once you're in the field, it's different," Chavez said. "So far, I'm loving it. I'm looking forward to seeing if this is really my passion. This is my calling."
To keep up with Mock Trial Club, follow its Instagram @bhsmocktrialclub or its Remind @bhs-mock.
zara bukhari • Feb 4, 2026 at 9:19 am
cant wait to see they do in future meetings!!