Wayland High School’s Mock Trial team won its first trial, 85 to 79, on Tuesday against Beaver Country Day. The trial took place at the Waltham City Hall.

In Mock Trial, students act the part of lawyers and witnesses in a courtroom situation, and argue their side in an imaginary legal case, created by the Massachusetts Bar Association. Students prepare for trial against other schools, arguing either defense or prosecution. The goal of the Mock Trial program is to instill in high school participants a greater understanding of the law and the judicial process, as well as to provide an idea of what a real legal career is like.

This year, our team is focusing on a criminal case where the defendant is on trial for murder. The hypothetical defendant, Sazer Larsen, is an Iraq war veteran who experienced the traumatic experience of a roadside bombing while on his tour of duty. However, a few months after being discharged, he shot and murdered his childhood enemy at a public fireworks display show.

The aim of the prosecution is to prove the defendant guilty of first degree murder. Oppositely, the defense claims that Sazer Larsen’s traumatic experience in Iraq caused him to have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Furthermore, they argue that this disorder caused him to have a hallucination, so that he was not aware of his actions during the murder.

Wayland’s prosecution went to trial for Tuesday’s case. The lawyers arguing for the prosecution were James Terranova, Libby Gutschenritter, Garrett Levey, Shensi Ding, Willem Wang, and Hannah Mead. Terranova gave the opening statement, and Gutschenritter the closing statement. Acting as witnesses were Katie Gordon, Melanie Perten, and Melanie Wang.

The prosecution was very pleased with their six-point win over Beaver Country Day. James Terranova, a WHS senior, noted, “The prosecution did well today because we were more prepared than the opposing team. It came down to us being more confident in our material than they were.”

Mock Trial teacher coach Kathy Sherry noted that the hard work and practice of the team paid off at the trial. “I’m very proud of the prosecution,” added Howard Lenow, a local attorney and the team’s lawyer coach. “It was a good first effort and we learned which areas need to be tightened up.”

The team is looking forward to their next trial, set for next Tuesday. Once again, they will travel to Waltham City Hall to argue their case. However, it will be the defense facing off against Newton North, led by the senior captains Corey Scult and Emily Zhang.

“Mock Trial is a really tight-knit group, and I love that aspect of it,” said Zhang of the team. “We did fantastically today, and I’m sure we can keep up the good work.”