Skip to content

Students put through the rigours of a first-degree murder trial

Barrie North wins this year's Simcoe-Muskoka Mock Trial competition

Students from 10 area high schools went through the rigours and pressures of a first-degree murder trial at the Barrie courthouse Thursday night.

The Simcoe-Muskoka Mock Trial competition saw high-school law students represent either the Crown or the defence in the case of R. versus Bartholomew (Bartie) Butt, who has been charged with first-degree murder following the discovery of a severed head.

This year’s winner was Barrie North Collegiate.

Aside from being involved the real deal, there’s no better way to learn the ins and outs of Canada’s justice system than to play the part.

The mock-trial competition teaches students how to prepare for trial and work together, as well as giving them a feeling of what it’s like to work in a courtroom and see the final outcome, said Ontario Court of Justice Judge Glenn Krelove, who has been involved with the local event for many years.

“This is their big day; this is like opening night,” Krelove told BarrieToday during the proceedings in an adjoining courtroom. “But there are no other performances, so it’s all in one night.

“The competition aspect is really secondary,” added Krelove, a St. Joseph’s graduate who began his career as a criminal lawyer in 1978 in Barrie before being appointed to the bench in 1998.

With the Grade 11 and 12 law students stepping into the roles of defence lawyers and the Crown, sometimes witnesses are “poached” from drama classes, Krelove said, to provide a little bit of flair.

Students begin preparing for the mock trial in February and the competition is held the fourth week of April to coincide with Law Day, April 17, to mark the signing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982.

The same trial was conducted in several courtrooms, as students competed against rival high schools using the same case file and information.

Each courtroom was overseen by a real judge.

Marking the students were lawyers, Crown attorneys, teachers and people from the community.

The mock-trial competition was started in 1994 by Kerry Evans in concert with teachers from area high schools who taught law classes. It began with only four schools taking part. In the beginning, Krelove served as a lawyer coach for his old high school.

The case, which is developed by a local lawyer, changes from year to year.



Comments

If you would like to apply to become a Verified Commenter, please fill out this form.