PRINCETON — A first degree murder trial took over the courtroom of Mercer County Circuit Court Judge Omar Aboulhosn this week, but it wasn't the typical scene that played out as proceedings took place Wednesday.

Instead, it was dozens of middle school students who played the roles of prosecuting and defense attorneys, courtroom clerks, and jurors, and it wasn't a cold-blooded criminal, but a giggly teenage girl sitting in the seat of the defendant. As a part of their participation in the West Virginia Law Adventure sponsored by the State Supreme Court, students in Dianna Putorek's Princeton and Bluefield Middle School language arts classes visited the courtroom this week to put on a mock trial. In the performance that was a requirement of the writing competition, the students played out the murder trial script they've spent the past two months composing.

“Everyone had a hand in writing it, and I think from this project they have learned about various types of writing, particularly persuasive,” said Putorek. “They also learned the importance of questioning in a certain order, and how to think logically that way, and of course performance and oral communication skills like speaking clearly and loudly, which are all very important 21st Century skills.”

After receiving information about the State Supreme Court competition, offered to middle school language art classes throughout the state, Putorek says she decided it would be an innovative way to teach those important skills and more. After their mock trial performance, students have a chance to revise their scripts before turning them in by March 1. After that deadline, winners will be selected by the Bar's Young Lawyers Section, and the winning class will be invited to perform their mock trial at the Supreme Court on April 29.

“I was rather impressed with the quality of these students' scripts today,” said Aboulhosn. “I think both schools did an excellent job, and they have a good chance of success at the state level. They were well-prepared, they didn't appear to be nervous at all, and they really did a good job presenting every side and debating the verdict.”

Before writing their scripts, classes had to choose between three scenarios to base their trial around. While both the PMS and BMS classes worked with the same scenario, their scripts and mock trials are different and will be submitted as two separate entries in the state contest.

“I really learned a lot about the courtroom and how they do things from this,” said Amberly Lester, of PMS. “We really worked as a team to get this done, and I think we have a little bit of a chance to win it.”

Eighth-grade student Molly Lovern, of BMS, agreed.

“We worked really hard, and some days I really thought we weren't going to get it done, but we all did our best and we came together to do it,” she said. “I think we bonded as a group, having to work so hard. I never really knew how much work went into preparing a trial and testimonies before this, and now, I'm kind of interested in a career in the field as a defense attorney, because this project made it a lot more interesting to me.”

— Contact CharLy Markwart at cmarkwart@ptonline.net.