Student-run Mock Trial Club reaches competition semi-finals

For the Upper School Mock Trial team, Dec. 7th, is something like a dream come true. 

Fellow sophomore classmates Mason Linken ‘26, Jordan Eisbruck ‘26, Ryan Chang ‘26, and Akash Agarwal ‘26 worked together to create the student-run Upper School Mock Trial Club this fall, and after successfully arguing their case in a preliminary court case, are headed for the semi-finals of the Long Island Moot Court competition, which will be held in the Long Island Federal Courthouse in East Islip.

"In terms of preparation, the whole initiative has been student-run, from the founding of the club this year to their preparation for the event," praised Upper School History teacher and advisor Josh Hayes. "In their first court case, they argued both sides of a fictional case involving a school search of a student's cell phone following a contentious social media post. This required extensive research into First and Fourth Amendment issues and relevant Supreme Court cases," added Mr. Hayes. The court case also pitted the propriety of artificial intelligence against free speech and social media.

Thirty-six teams competed in last week's Long Island Competition. The top two from Nassau and the top two from Suffolk advanced to the Dec. 7th semi-finals. If successful against Massapequa HS at the semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 7, Friends Academy's team will have the opportunity to compete for the Nassau County championship that same day.

"These are kids who are interested in how courts work and how people pursue justice," said Upper School Principal Mark Schoeffel, who accompanied the students to their first court case. "They really did it all, including researching competitions. The only stipulation we had was that the team was going to show up prepared and ready to compete," he added. "We had a high standard and they moved well beyond that."