The 独家黑料 mock trial teams delivered an impressive performance at the St. Olaf Mock Trial competition. For the first time in 独家黑料 history, two teams competed: the Maroon Team, composed of junior and senior students, and the Gold Team, composed of first-year and sophomore students. 

The Maroon Team won third place overall, marking the second time 独家黑料 has won a team award. Last year, the team placed fifth overall.

Mock trial coach Brittany Davila, an assistant Clay County attorney, said the Gold Team had a fantastic showing for a group of students who had never competed at the collegiate level. They won four out of the eight ballots.

During mock trial, eight ballots can be won across four rounds. Each team acts as the defense for half the rounds and the plaintiff for the other half. 

Grace Halvorson '25 is a co-captain of mock trial and competed on the Maroon Team. 

“More than anything, I was proud of the Gold Team for showing up even though I know they had a lot of nerves,” Halvorson said. “They did so incredible, and it makes me really excited for the future of mock trial.” 

She believes the diversity of experience among each member has strengthened the team as a whole by providing different perspectives. 

Tony Berndt '26 is the other co-captain of mock trial. He said being coached by Davila has been an amazing experience for the team because of her extensive experience in law. 

“Our team’s success was a testament to how hard each team worked to prepare with Brittany,” he said. 

This year, the case was loosely based on Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” and centered around the Slayer Statute. The statute stipulates that someone found guilty or suspected of causing another person’s death cannot benefit from that person’s death. In this case, one sibling sued the other for murdering their father to prevent them from inheriting the family estate. 

On the Maroon Team, Halvorson won the Outstanding Attorney Award and Daniel Davies '25 won the Outstanding Witness Award.

“There was a very competitive round against the University of Minnesota that pushed all of us to raise the bar a little bit,” Halvorson said. “That round pushed me to have a clear and concise close, which I think contributed to winning.”

Davies earned his award for playing a swing witness, meaning he testified for the defense and plaintiff. He said his character had funny quirks and was biased against the deceased.

“When playing a witness, the best way to go about it is to just have fun on the stand,” Davies said. 

Halvorson added, “It’s basically theater — developing a character and staying in that mindset.”

On the Gold Team, Evan Grover '26 also won the Outstanding Witness Award in his first year competing on the team. 

“I was pretty shocked when I found out I won but super excited as well,” he said. “The witness role was actually the role I was most nervous for.”

Grover emphasized that he couldn’t have won without the help of his team. He said there is no competition between Maroon and Gold, and everyone just wants to succeed. 

“We are two teams, but I think we all view ourselves as one,” Gover said. “We aren’t divided in any way.” 

The mock trial team will be down a few members in the spring due to students participating in the Lutheran College Washington Semester in Washington, D.C. 

“We need more members to continue competing with two teams,” Halvorson said. “If people still want to join, it’s not too late and counts as a PEAK.”

Students can reach out to the team on Instagram at . 

 

Written by Alyssa Czernek '25