Team from Kalani High wins case at mock trial

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Education Writer

They knew the kid was guilty. "Alika Gomes," 10, had been caught downloading more than 700 songs on file-sharing Web sites. Now the record industry wanted her parents to pay $750 to $150,000 for each copyright violation.

"I tried to look at myself, because I've downloaded music in the past," Momose confessed. "I tried to give it as much sympathy as I could."

The judge bought their argument, sending Kalani High to the national finals in Orlando, Fla., in May.

Mock trial blends serious legal concepts with theater, so good performances are almost as important as mastering the law. High school students are the attorneys and the witnesses, and prepare to argue both sides of a fictitious case before a real judge. Many of the students don't even want to be lawyers, but they use the competition to sharpen their writing, speaking and analytical skills.

Kalani's team started practicing about three times a week in November, once the case was announced, then picked it up to five or six times a week as the O'ahu and state trials neared.

De Silva, who usually gives opening statements for Kalani, said she is considering a career in corporate law. She said the key to success in a mock trial is identifying with the case and the characters.

They didn't really warm to the file-sharing case at first, but seniors de Silva and Momose began to appreciate the dilemma of parents being held responsible for their children's actions, and most of the team sheepishly admitted to downloading music themselves.

"We wanted to make the Gomeses like your average everyday family," de Silva said.

Charlie Price, an attorney at Koshiba Agena & Kubota, who served as the team's legal adviser, said they had a strong competitive drive. He said the trials are similar to real court cases, although the rules of evidence are different and there is a time limit on witness questioning.

"It's more like a TV trial in that sense," Price said. "You have to get your punches in and get out.

"They had a couple of real thespians."

The team likes to call Kalani senior Christina Hunt "10" because she usually gets the highest score from judges for her witness portrayals. She played Alika's mother "Ula" in the state final, a character she modeled after an auntie.

Hunt said the experience has made her more confident. "It's a lot like putting on a play," she said.

Kalani, which beat teams from Kaua'i High School, Punahou and Hilo High School in the finals for its first state title, needs $10,000 to pay for the trip to Orlando. Team members spent a day this week working on fund-raising letters to Kalani alumni in the legal community, and they are looking for other sources of money.

Gregory Van Cantfort, a Kalani history teacher and the team's adviser, said his students have learned to analyze case law and craft questions that draw out information from witnesses. They studied the recent Napster case on music file-sharing for background.

Kalani has only a month to prepare for the case at the nationals — a murder trial — but Van Cantfort is confident his students will be ready.

"If I needed a defense attorney, I'd hire one of them in a heartbeat," he said.

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.