October 25—Vale Moot Courtroom was filled with more than two-hundred excited students, faculty and guests waiting for the event to begin. Booklets were provided by Themis which contained biographies on the guests and the facts of the case. The booklets also contained a schedule of the events and an invitation to the reception following the mock trial.
Clint Orem, Justice of the George Read chapter of Phi Alpha Delta walked out and introduced those participating in the mock trial “showdown.” The first guest was Fortunato “Fred” Perri, high profile Philadelphia defense attorney. He was representing Legan Arabach, portrayed by Dominic Carrera, George Read Chapter Marshal. The second guest was Carlos Vega, Assistant District Attorney, homicide division of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office. The final guest was Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes, former homicide judge in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and now CEO of the American Red Cross’s Southeastern Chapter of Pennsylvania.
The trial began with Judge Hughes thanking the jury for their participation. The “jury” consisted of the executive board of Moe Levine and the SBA, including student representatives.
The prosecution took its turn giving an opening statement, A.D.A Vega thanked the jury for their participation and explained what the facts of the case were according to the State and laid out the issues the prosecution planned to prove throughout the trial. Vega closed by asking for a guilty verdict.
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| Fortunato “Fred” Perri, Defense |
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| Carlos Vega, Prosecution |
Next the defense gave its opening, explaining to the jury that Mr. Arabach has no burden of proof, that the prosecution doesn’t have a body, and can not even prove that the “victim” in this case is dead. Perri concluded by asking the jury to find his client not guilty.
The questioning became heated when each side crossed the testifying witness. Witty comments were exchanged by counsel who made for an entertaining and educational trial. It became apparent once the trial began that the attorneys were treating this as a real case with a real victim and the goal was to put a murderer behind bars and to free an innocent man for the prosecution and defense respectively. The students could see the dedication and commitment that they invested into the trial.
The trial was concluded with a brief question and answer portion, where students were given the opportunity to ask what certain strategies were employed, why the judge ruled the way she did and if the demeanor the attorneys reflected their common courtroom practices.
Once the mock trial was over the guests, students and faculty adjourned to Barrister’s Club for refreshments including, beef wellington, bacon-wrapped scallops, shrimp and grilled vegetables. Half of the funds for this event were provided by the ABA and the other half by the SBA at Widener.
This Phi Alpha Delta event was one of the most successful to date and the executive board wants to thank everyone who contributed to make it great.
