Luverne Mock Trial students will return to the courtroom Thursday, Jan. 12, for the first time in two years as the 2023 season gets underway.
According to adviser Jason Berghorst, the pandemic and resulting backlog in courtrooms statewide required competition to be virtual until this year.
“The students are looking forward to in-person trials,” Berghorst said.
“But only three members of our team have seen in-person trials — when they were freshmen – so the majority of our team isn’t really sure what to expect. Of course, that will be the case for the other teams as well.”
Rounds 1 and 2 will be in-person, with Rounds 3 and 4 virtual. Round 5 will be in-person at the Rice County Courthouse in Faribault, where the top three Southern Division teams compete for berths in the still-virtual state tournament in March.
“(The virtual rounds) will hopefully allow us to compete against schools from a further distance, as we were able to do the last two years when all competitions were online,” Berghorst said.
This year’s case involves civil medical malpractice when college swimmer Jamie Morton alleged negligence by Dr. Ardi Ramidus in the knee surgery and standard of care Dr. Ramidus prescribed.
For Luverne, Morton is portrayed by senior Mallory Von Tersch, with additional witnesses portraying medical expert Dr. Madison Adams (sophomore Xavier McKenzie) and swim coach Kris Peterson (sophomore Adam Ask.)
Plaintiff attorneys are juniors Roselynn Hartshorn and Cassi Chesley and freshman Tyler Hodge.
Senior Parker Carbonneau portrays Dr. Ardi Ramidus, with senior Jadyn Hart as physical therapist Robin Stoll and senior Ella Lanoue as swim team member Val Rivera.
Defense attorneys are senior Ross Bergman, freshman Zander Carbonneau and sophomore Keaton Ahrendt.
Alternates include sophomore Eli McLendon (who is also the bailiff) and freshman Nicole Areualo as attorneys. Alternate witnesses are sophomore Makayla Oechsle (also the time keeper) and junior Hallie Bork.
Jeff Haubrich returns as the team’s attorney coach.
Berghorst said since the medical malpractice case was released in October, students have been busy navigating technicalities and specific terminology.
“Team members are enjoying the process overall as they research what the terms mean and the law says, and create our strategies for the season based on what they are learning,” Berghorst said. “It’s not easy, but they are working hard.”
Round 1 for LHS is Thursday, Jan. 12, against Lakeview at the Lincoln County Courthouse in Ivanhoe. Competition begins at 1 p.m.
Round 2 is Friday, Jan. 20, against Hills-Beaver Creek at the Cottonwood County Courthouse in Windom, beginning at 9 a.m.
Opponents for rounds three and four are yet to be determined.
Round 5 brings the six teams with the best records in the first four rounds together, and the winners move on to the virtual state tournament.