Written by: Ansley Hall and published in The Martinsburg Journal on May 1, 2025, link to the article HERE.
MARTINSBURG — Martinsburg High School worked with Berkeley County Teen Courts to have a Mock Trial on Wednesday, giving students the chance to experience a trial in-person. By taking on different roles, they got to learn about the trial process and the work that goes into it.
Celeste Brown, Civics teacher at Martinsburg High School, is always looking for ways to enhance the learning experience for her students. Last year as her classes were working through the judicial branch in the class, she had the idea of putting together a mock trial, allowing students to take different roles in a court case. This year she decided to do it again at the Berkeley County Courthouse as an extra credit option for students to experience what a real trial is like.
“It’s important because of the infamous phrase: ‘When am I going to use this in real life?’” Brown said. “Students get to see a trial and be there live. They take a real case and work it out themselves. I didn’t let the jurors see the script beforehand because I wanted them to experience what it’s like to choose just based on what they hear.”
Before the trial even began, each student took on a role. Students volunteered to be the defendant, prosecuting attorney and assistant, defense attorney and assistant, witnesses and jury members. Brown encouraged them to research how real lawyers conduct themselves by watching documentaries and real trials online, while jurors learn about their responsibility in court. She then picked a case, giving the attorneys the chance to work through beforehand.
The case focused on a defendant who had friends over for a party on an off-school day. The FBI showed up and found them flushing drugs down the toilet as well as a backpack with drugs inside. Brown wanted students to work on a case that they could relate to that might have an impact on them, helping build excitement for the experience.
“I wanted the case to be student-based,” Brown said. “I think the students liked the case because they could relate to it. With prom coming up, I’ve already heard students talking about different parties. In education, connection is a big deal. Students always want to know why something is important to them.”
With help from Lou Kramer, coordinator for Berkeley County Teen Court, and other teen court volunteers, the students discussed the evidence, deciding the defendant was not guilty. There was not enough evidence that the drugs belonged to him and not someone else from the party, they determined.
Jamario Christopher, senior at Martinsburg High School, volunteered to be the prosecuting assistant during the trial, but due to another student’s absence he took the prosecuting attorney role. He volunteered because he thought it sounded interesting and wanted to give it a try. He put in a lot of work, rehearsing with his brother and writing out the script himself. His favorite part of the whole process though, was standing in trial and presenting his case. Christopher even surprised himself, saying he did better than he thought he would.
“It’s something new and different,” Christopher said. “There are a lot of students who don’t get to experience something like this, but I think everyone should. It may just be a mock thing, but it’s something that really happens.”
After the trial, Brown expressed pride in Christopher and the other students for coming out of their comfort zones. She shared that many of them are quiet in class, but through the mock trial she saw them become more confident in themselves as they learned about the judicial system.