The 2025 Fieldston Mock Trial team rests its case. After wrapping up another exciting and intense season, the team reached the quarterfinals of the NYC Regional competition – a feat that ties them with last year’s team for the strongest performance in Fieldston’s Mock Trial history. Under the leadership of Form VI students Natalia Posen, Gideon Grinberg and Julian Ghiazza, the team navigated last-minute changes following the early retirement of Ishaan Akileswar.
Mock Trial is a widely popular club in high schools across the United States. Each year, teams of six students receive a fictional court case and argue it in an actual courtroom. Each team has three attorneys and three witnesses. While the attorneys deliver arguments and make opening and closing statements, the witnesses memorize affidavits and respond to questioning from attorneys. Teams alternate between representing the plaintiff and the defense in each round.
“Competitions present an exciting yet demanding environment in which students must remember their lines, improvise in response to the opposing team’s arguments and coordinate to build a single winning argument based on the evidentiary rules and facts of the case,” says Upper School English Teacher Elizabeth Nolte, who advises the club at Fieldston.
The case itself switches between civil and criminal every year. This year’s case was a fictional civil lawsuit between School Superintendent Leyton Manns and High School Student Sandy Townes. Manns accused Townes of creating a series of AI deepfakes videos in retaliation for his decision to cut funding for Townes’ computer club. The videos severely damaged Manns’ reputation and led to his loss in a crucial primary during his campaign for state senate. Form V students Alex Sursock, Ezra Kittay, Cristina Ellis, Zach Lodish and Niya Kapahi played the witnesses, while club leaders Posen, Grinberg and Ghiazza, along with Form V student Bret Lefkowitz, played the lawyers
Despite never competing with a full roster due to illness, scheduling conflicts and other unforeseen circumstances, the team reached the top eight in New York City, a particularly competitive region. They participated in a total of five trials, including two qualifying rounds and three playoff rounds. In an especially victorious moment, they knocked out the team that defeated them last year, Benjamin Cardozo.
Another unexpected challenge arose when one of the team’s faculty advisors, Upper School History Teacher Paul Heideman, went on paternity leave. Fortunately, the team was left in the more than capable hands of Nolte, who single-handedly guided the team through the remainder of the season and led them to several more victories.
Reflecting on the team’s challenges, Ellis shares, “While I think issues with sustaining the roster and having a full team ultimately led to our unfortunate defeat, it’s still incredible how we were able to persevere for so long.”
Kittay agrees, noting, “I was really impressed by our team’s adaptability this year. We had a lot of challenges thrown in our way, from last-minute changes to our roster to getting trial details just days before. Despite all the challenges, I was always proud of our ability to keep our professionalism in the courtroom, which is not something I can say about every team we faced.”
Nolte comments on the season as a whole, sharing, “For the second year in a row, we advanced to the quarter-finals and placed in the top eight out of nearly 100 teams! The team had an amazing season and should be proud of their hard work, sportsmanship and ability to pull together as a team to overcome challenges.” She adds, “In addition to competing in real courtrooms at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse and the Moynihan Federal Courthouse, the team was judged by legal professionals, including an Assistant U.S. Attorney and a Federal Judge. Congratulations to the Mock Trial Team!”
Two of next year’s leaders, Ellis and Kittay, are already looking towards the future and planning for how to build upon this year’s success. Ellis states, “We’re all so excited to be club leaders next year. We’ve already created a group chat and held a meeting to strategize. We really want to make the club as fun and exciting as possible!” Kittay echoes, “I love this club and really look forward to leading it next year!”
As Elle Woods wisely said, “What, like it’s hard?”
Follow the Mock Trial team’s Instagram, @fieldstonmocktrialclub, for more updates!
