DANVILLE – In a typical year, Danville mock trial visits practically every corner of the state in their pursuit of courtroom excellence.
From Miami University in Oxford to their annual scrimmage against Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron, the program travels miles across the state, all to eventually reach one final destination in Columbus: the Ohio State Mock Trial Competition.
And while they have yet again achieved that feat, the arrangement has been a bit different this year. Because of COVID-19, the competition has been forced to adopt a virtual format, taking place entirely over Zoom.
“There are certain parts of it that are enjoyable, but I miss the in-person trials that really get your adrenaline flowing,” said Jackson Kidwell, a senior witness on the team.
“I would like to say that I like it more in some ways and less than others,” senior attorney Faith Langdon added. “I think it helps you eliminate some of the distractions that are sometimes present when in a courtroom, but I do miss the competitive environment.”
This year bears particular weight as Jim Holmes, the former Danville history teacher who founded the program in 1994, passed away shortly after the team advanced from their district competition. Langdon and Kidwell are among the last to have learned from Holmes, when he served as the middle school mock trial advisor.
“He was a very serious man who felt very passionate about mock trial, and I could always tell that,” Langdon commented.
“I am honored to have competed for him and to have had him as a role model,” Kidwell said.
“Mock trial was an extension of (Holmes’) passion for teaching and the Constitution,” said Noel Alden, a defense attorney and current coach who coached alongside Holmes for fifteen years until his retirement from mock trial. “He believed firmly in giving kids opportunities and helping them succeed. We still follow those principles.”
This will be the ninth consecutive year that Danville High School, a building boasting some 170 students, has sent at least one team to the state competition. They are one of nineteen teams competing in the event this year.
