In the case of the FVHS mock trial team, team roles were defined to a large extent by the organizing body that schedules the competitions, provides the case materials, and defines the rules for each mock trial season.

Teams participating in California high-school mock trial competitions have teachers and attorneys who act as coaches and students who participate in mock trial competitions. Within a given competition, one team will be assigned to act as prosecution and the other as defense. Each participating student will be assigned to a specific role, as described in The Mock Trial Program.

During the period covered by this case study, the FVHS Mock Trial team had 1-2 teacher coaches, 1-2 attorney coaches, and 20+ student members. In the early part of the season, students were assigned specific competition roles which tended to remain static for the first 3-4 competitions. As elimination moved the team into stiffer competitions, role assignments for students became more dynamic in order to compose the strongest team for each match.

While every student was expected to learn the basics of each role, their assigned role often required more in-depth study and greater mastery of certain topics. For example, while every student needed to have a basic understanding of the mock trial competition rules for time keeping, the student assigned to the role of clerk (who operated the stopwatch) needed to be thoroughly familiar with the details of those rules. The role of pre-trial attorney, in particular, required specialized knowledge. As a consequence, this role was more likely to remain static once assigned.

To be continued…