Working in the field of Law interests many students at Jesuit High School Sacramento, and thanks to Jesuit’s Mock Trial program, they can explore this passion.

Assistant Coach and experienced District Attorney Matt De Moura believes that Mock Trial really can help prepare students for the future by simulating the functions of a real court.. 

“Mock Trial is an imitation trial, often based on a real case,” Mr. De Moura said. “It is generally a competitive program where students learn the foundations of trial advocacy and apply those in competitive settings similar to a real court.” 

Mr. De Moura believes that Mock Trial assists students in achieving their goals and sets them up for careers in the future.

“It is an opportunity to allow students to pursue an interest in law as well as develop public speaking skills,” Mr. De Moura said. “Many lawyers started their legal careers in high school mock trial. What the coaches have seen over the years is that Mock Trial unlocks the potential of a lot of students and has proven to themselves that they’re capable of being highly successful lawyers and advocates.”

Liam Stout ’25, who played the Defendant in this year’s Mock Trial case, describes the Mock Trial process.

“We meet up every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. just to meet with the coaches and just talk about the case; then when the competition actually happens in late January or early February, we’ll go down to the Sac County Courthouse and we will compete with other teams [and the judge] decide[s] whether the defendant was guilty or not guilty,” said Liam. 

Mock Trial co-Captain, Matthew Ferrara ’23, has participated in Mock Trial all four years of his time at Jesuit. He shares his experiences with the team, and what he has gained from participating in Mock Trial. 

“Mock Trial was a highlight of my time at Jesuit,” Matthew said. “My four years of Mock Trial taught me so much about law and was so much fun because of my great teammates as well as the time we spent working on the cases, competing, spending time together, and having team dinners.”

Mock Trial continues to set the example of an ideal co-curricular because it offers structured practices, meetings, and competitions, as well as being able to prepare students for potential careers.