It takes more than an advisor, more than students, more than assistance from the law—it takes commitment. The special group of participants involved in mock trial at Lakewood High School are devoted individuals, students who spend time preparing their cases, fighting their causes, and ultimately hoping to prove their points at trial.
This year (hopefully the first of many), there were enough participants in the club to warrant sending two teams to the competition. They came out of the experience with an award, phenomenal accomplishment of their roles, and most importantly the shared experience of trial—they were the witnesses, the lawyers, and their hard work is evident in their determination and persistence.
The process works the same way for students each time. The case, a new one for each year, is released in the fall to all schools and participants. Members are given until early January to choose their roles, develop their questions as defense or prosecution, their responses as witnesses, and prepare for any situation that could come up in the trial.
The competition occurred on Friday, January 17th, at the Justice Center. Joseph Lobozzo, in his fifth year of advising, stated that the students were involved from the beginning. After receiving the case in October, they met weekly for the first few months. Come January, meetings became more frequent until competition day, including a few meetings over winter break to perfect their roles.
This year’s case centered around the First Amendment. Wyatt Latu, a senior at ‘Trillium High School,’ is a known miscreant and troublemaker. In the past, Latu edited photos of a fellow student (in an offensive way), resulting in that student being ridiculed and switching schools. During a lecture, Latu also stormed into a teacher’s classroom and berated one of his fellow students. Finally, Latu was caught with a vape on the school bus and disciplined by Trillium High School principal, Dever Saidi. Saidi is a former marine and is currently running for city council in ‘Harmony.’ Latu was barred from attending Trillium’s winter prom, the ‘Snow Ball,’ as a punishment for possessing the vape.
Frustrated at his suspension from the Snow Ball, Latu created a defamatory (allegedly satirical) deepfake of Saidi, that forced Saidi to say things that directly countered her campaign. This video spread like wildfire, reaching 5000 views in a single day. When contacted by Saidi’s campaign manager, Theo Ngoma, Latu refused to take down the video. Saidi began seeing significant drops in public trust and the polls, losing her lead in the city council race.
Students had to argue whether the deepfake was defamatory, whether the video caused irreparable damage to Saidi’s campaign, whether it constituted ‘political parody,’ and more.
Lobozzo explained how students involved in mock trial are also typically a part of several other clubs and groups, and each student is giving up their own free time to be there.

“I’m super impressed by our students…they prep their questions, work with their witnesses, all is done on the side,” Lobozzo said.
It takes an interest to be here and it is what drives the club, the advisor too.
“It is so fun,” Lobozzo said. “To watch the kids practice the trial and come up with strategies—it gives me such a cool insight.”
Mock trial member, junior Abigail Peck, shared how the experience falls nothing short of what Lobozzo said.
“My favorite part is for sure the people—there is a very great sense of community and we have a lot of fun,” Peck said.
Peck has been a part of the team since her freshman year and has had a significant impact at each competition.
This year, she won the “Outstanding Witness Award,” a prestigious recognition given to one student per trial. Peck mentioned she was highly honored and “appreciated the recognition.” In her years of participation, she does believe that there can be a lack of this recognition for all, especially her other deserving peers.
“But, we persist, and even though we aren’t moving on, everybody worked tirelessly to be amazing at the competition,” Peck said.
They are passionate about what they are doing, and they prepared diligently. Peck shared there were times you could find her with abbreviated versions of her prepared questions written down on her arm the week before the competition as preparation.

“[Although the day is] stressful, it is so fun to watch your teammates compete and support each other,” Peck said.
Third-year member, co-captain, and Junior Maya Trempe explained mock trial as a “logic puzzle” of sorts. It involves “analysis, connecting events, and being able to roll with the punches.”
She has been interested in mock Trial since middle school when her first trials were on Zoom. It is extremely rewarding to be a leader on the team this year.
“And [new members] make me so elated, that we can have people that keep growing the club. They all do a fantastic job.” Trempe said.
It takes a lot of tenacity to be on this team, to be able to commit and to perform to the best of your ability.
“I would also like to thank Mr. Lobozzo and the other attorneys for all the time, dedication, and thoughtfulness,” Trempe said. The determination to help the students succeed carries through to each student.
Various volunteers with careers in law dedicated their time to help guide the club. These mentors were attorneys Dan Shields, Amelia Leonard, Jennifer McTernan, and Peter Soldato.
Every year, there is a new case, new roles, and new notes to make—each and every member plays an important part. It’s not easy to speak up, to spread a point, or to get a message across. These students, these enthusiastic members, spend their time perfecting what they are going to say, how they are going to say it, and who they are going to say it to.
They are getting first-hand experience in law, communication, and the journey of mock trial. It takes every little piece of this “logic puzzle” to make a whole. Prepping cases, fighting causes, and proving points are things you can count on all of them to do successfully.