High school students from nearly 20 schools descended on Wheeling High School last month, dressed in suits and ties and ready to argue their case. The occasion was the second annual Wheeling Wildcat Warm Up. The competition aims to prepare teams for the Mock Trial Invitational — the state championship — hosted by the Illinois State Bar Association. This year’s competition takes place March 14 in Springfield.
Muhammad Tharwani, a second year law student at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, served as an evaluator at the competition, helping to judge the teams.
He thinks of his recurring role as paying it forward. Tharwani was a member of Wheeling’s first mock trial team, back in 2017-2018, and his experience inspired him to ultimately attend law school. Each time he returns to help out, he says he is impressed by the level of preparedness these students have.
“I am blown away time and time again at the level these high school students display,” Tharwani says. “Whether that be their understanding of the law, or the level of confidence in their public speaking. Any student who is willing to stand up in front of their peers and make a legal argument is commendable.”
Muhammad Tharwani
Wheeling’s competition is one of nine warm up events across the state. At these mock trial competitions, students act as attorneys — for both sides, the plaintiff and the defense — and witnesses in a simulated case. The case they try comes right from the Illinois Bar Association and it is meant to challenge students to use their analytical skills to present a persuasive argument.
This year’s case involved the plaintiff, River Knox, who is an ultramarathon runner taking part in the Lincolnville Ridge 100 ultramarathon. While traversing a dangerous section of the course, he becomes injured. He proceeds to sue the defendant, Lincoln Adventure Co. LLC, the race organizers, claiming they were negligent while the defense claims they took all reasonable precautions during the race.
Alex Diesbergen, a social studies and business teacher at Wheeling, has served as mock trial sponsor nearly since its inception. He has seen the numbers of interested students grow from 10 in the early years to as many as 35 currently, split up into two teams. What’s more, Wheeling has finished among the top 10 teams in the state the last two years.
“The real constant in the activity is how impressed I am by the kids desire to learn, grow and compete,” Diesbergen says. “We went from just five events my first year to having around 15 on a yearly basis. This includes working with collegiate Mock Trial Teams from Northwestern and the University of Illinois to courthouse competitions at the Rolling Meadows, Skokie and Lake County courthouses.”
Not every student involved in mock trial will go onto attend law school, like Tharwani, but the skills developed in mock trial competitions reap countless benefits.
“From personal experience, the earlier you are exposed to this level of public speaking and critical thinking, the better off you will be,” Tharwani says. “I am excited to see not only how Wheeling High School performs in the rest of this year’s competitions, but also, more importantly, how all the students grow in their public speaking skills and overall confidence.”
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