Speaker 1: Class action is a production of I Heart Radio and
Speaker 1: sound argument. All right, where are we going? So we
Speaker 1: are heading over to the courtroom. The only way to
Speaker 1: get through it is through this pestle door with a
Speaker 1: special key, and you have to go kind of through
Speaker 1: mosquito allity to get there. But it doesn't matter because
Speaker 1: we're going to get there. Justice BILS coach A. J.
Speaker 1: Blito de Luna is preparing the mock court room on
Speaker 1: campus for today's exam. I don't remember which key. It
Speaker 1: is not that one. M that's weird. It does look
Speaker 1: like they did something to the lock. Well that it's
Speaker 1: clearly a problem. Just to relax to deep breath, all right,
Speaker 1: claim me find the king. So apparently at some point
Speaker 1: someone decided to change the lot to the back door
Speaker 1: of the courtroom and nobody has a key. If I
Speaker 1: want to give the kids the courtroom experience, they've earned it.
Speaker 1: I want them to have the majesty of the court,
Speaker 1: the judge sitting perched on her chair, and the witness
Speaker 1: in the box and the jury in the room. I
Speaker 1: want to give them that. I think they've earned it.
Speaker 1: Today is the final day of boot camp for the
Speaker 1: second year law students. Trying out for the St. Mary's
Speaker 1: University mock trial team. By eight am, students are climbing
Speaker 1: out of their trucks and family cars. They're dressed for action.
Speaker 1: Harris cut nails are done. It's a hundred degrees outside
Speaker 1: and even hotter inside the black and gray suits of
Speaker 1: the law courts. This is class action. I'm Katie Fang.
Speaker 1: In just an hour or so, these students will speak
Speaker 1: for the very first time in the courtroom. They're going
Speaker 1: to address the judge, conduct a cross examination, refresh a witness,
Speaker 1: enter evidence. But for now, they pace, They mutter their lines.
Speaker 1: They look up to the heavens. I pray, asked the
Speaker 1: Lord to help me bring back to remembers the things
Speaker 1: that I've studied episode two. Breathe think relax. That's because
Speaker 1: you can't ask me to bring stuff that you never study,
Speaker 1: because it's not gonna drop off the sky. I mean,
Speaker 1: we're going to find out today whether or not we
Speaker 1: push them too hard and too far? Did I do
Speaker 1: too much with them? That's what that's on me. Right.
Speaker 1: So they're in their final exam. I'm in my final exam.
Speaker 1: Did I push them too hard? Are they going to
Speaker 1: be able to do all the things that we tried
Speaker 1: to instill in them for this year. Good afternoon, how
Speaker 1: are you doing today? Don't ask how they're doing. No
Speaker 1: one wants to be in court sogesse good morning or
Speaker 1: good morning? Yeah, good looking? At what quick question? Would
Speaker 1: you do that with your own witness? I never asked
Speaker 1: us someone's dealing. Just look. The imposter syndrome is alive
Speaker 1: and well in this group, isn't it. We've seen it
Speaker 1: all week long that they're continually second guessing themselves, and
Speaker 1: it's inherent in our profession to begin with. Do I belong?
Speaker 1: Should I be here? Should I be on this team?
Speaker 1: Is it right for me? I think for me it's
Speaker 1: kind of project team my voice more. But I think
Speaker 1: once I'm in there, I'll be I'll be okay with that.
Speaker 1: I drew a blank yesterday when we were practiced things.
Speaker 1: So I just hope it doesn't happen to fake. None
Speaker 1: of them have done this before. This is the first week.
Speaker 1: It's a culmination of the first week. Nerves are going
Speaker 1: to get to a bunch of them. So some of
Speaker 1: them who you thought were going to do great are
Speaker 1: going to fall flat on their face. Some people who
Speaker 1: had struggled, had a lightbulb go off last night, and
Speaker 1: are going to do fantastic. Everyone else is going to
Speaker 1: be in the middle. My credit card. Yeah Coldabula is
Speaker 1: a third year law student trying out for the first time. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's a serious young man. He wants to be a
Speaker 1: jag lawyer for the Air Force. Cole has a certain
Speaker 1: kind of earnestness that comes across in a good way.
Speaker 1: He competed on the Mood Court team last year arguing
Speaker 1: case law only, but now he hopes to find a
Speaker 1: new home with a trial team. Um So just kind
Speaker 1: of it's something you gotta suck up and go through.
Speaker 1: You know, nothing's easy, So do your do your duty
Speaker 1: to your team and go forward, just sort of knowing
Speaker 1: it's it's something I have to get done to, you know,
Speaker 1: not only get a grade, but myself it's part of
Speaker 1: the team and show everybody what I'm capable of doing.
Speaker 1: It's unfortunately I've had the equivalent to about fifteen hours
Speaker 1: of classes plus some work on the side as well
Speaker 1: all summer, so I've really had a break, very busy.
Speaker 1: Aside from objections, if we miss any question or if
Speaker 1: we forget to approach a pusson council or something. Are
Speaker 1: you guys gonna say no, like how when we were practicing.
Speaker 1: Are you probably get called out for it? Okay, right,
Speaker 1: council probably say your honor. I haven't seen that document. Okay, right, okay, Um,
Speaker 1: just stop and think great, stop and think right breed,
Speaker 1: stop and think yeah. No. I will definitely be tough
Speaker 1: on them. You'll see, I mean, I won't be smiling.
Speaker 1: I will you know that that isn't gonna happen. I
Speaker 1: mean it's going to be very very serious and see
Speaker 1: how they react to that. That's part of it as well.
Speaker 1: But at the end you're also going to see that
Speaker 1: fatherly love of telling them they belong, you know. Sometimes
Speaker 1: going into a nerve wracking situation, I'll listen to music. Obviously.
Speaker 1: Right now it's been a little difficult to do that.
Speaker 1: Big Andrea B. Butchelly fan, So I'd like to go
Speaker 1: to any one of his songs, you know, to kind
Speaker 1: of calm me down and relax me. In the event
Speaker 1: that it's not available, to also pray um and so
Speaker 1: that helps calm me down a lot too. So I
Speaker 1: will usually recite a Helm Marry or two. Okay, Dean
Speaker 1: with real students. Congratulations, I'm so excited. You guys look
Speaker 1: so professional. You're ready, right? Will you take the picture
Speaker 1: with them? Oh? Wait? Do you want to get the middle?
Speaker 1: Oh wait, wait, wait, you want to stay in the
Speaker 1: middle like you can stand up? I don't know what
Speaker 1: to say, objection, I don't thank you. I am Patricia Roberts.
Speaker 1: I am the Dean and Charles E. Canto, Distinguished Professor
Speaker 1: of Law at St. Mary's University, School of Law at St. Mary's.
Speaker 1: Because our advocacy program is so successful, it plays a
Speaker 1: very significant role in the law school in that the
Speaker 1: students who take part in it devote tremendous time to it,
Speaker 1: but it is a marvelous compliment to what they're learning
Speaker 1: in the classroom and what they're learning from the written
Speaker 1: advocacy portion of their legal education curriculum. We attract people
Speaker 1: who are drawn to providing justice, to increasing access to justice,
Speaker 1: and we're also increasing access to the profession for underrepresented individuals.
Speaker 1: Where Hispanic serving institution, majority of our students are of
Speaker 1: Hispanic or Latina descent. We also have a tremendous population
Speaker 1: of first generation students. We are proud to be breaking
Speaker 1: ground in many of the graduates we have in their
Speaker 1: families and in their communities, in providing additional access to
Speaker 1: the profession to those who will then pay it forward
Speaker 1: to those they represent. Breathe by relax. We have been
Speaker 1: together all week. None of us fight. We don't scream.
Speaker 1: Might be stern, but we don't scream. Right, you're going
Speaker 1: to mess up. I promise you. You're going to make
Speaker 1: a mistake. It's what you do when you make that mistake.
Speaker 1: Do you stop breathe, think and then speak, or do
Speaker 1: you give up? None of you will give up, None
Speaker 1: of you will. You will make a mistake. Relax, Breathe,
Speaker 1: I think, speak. You're gonna try to get a piece
Speaker 1: of evidence, and if you don't get it in right,
Speaker 1: you know what's gonna happen. It's gonna be an objection
Speaker 1: improper foundation. What does that tell you? Get it wrong?
Speaker 1: You didn't follow the steps right. We're gonna keep going.
Speaker 1: We're not gonna lie. You're not gonna hide the ball.
Speaker 1: We're not gonna say, oh my god, you wonderful. We're
Speaker 1: not gonna do that right. Our job is to correct
Speaker 1: you constantly, to make sure that we get it right.
Speaker 1: And when you get it right, we're gonna get it better.
Speaker 1: And when you get it better, we're gonna get a
Speaker 1: more better. That's why Marine Corps talking there. Right, Um,
Speaker 1: have fun with this, have far with this. It's a
Speaker 1: great day. It's graduation day, right, congraduation from boot camp day. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, at the end of the day, this is
Speaker 1: still practice. Um, you want to do well because it's
Speaker 1: affirming all the work that you've put in all week.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, for many of us, all
Speaker 1: of us really this is the first time we've ever
Speaker 1: done this, and so I've put on the work all
Speaker 1: week long. I'm confident in my ability to at least
Speaker 1: go out there, and so that's that's just what I'm
Speaker 1: hoping is going to carry me through this. There are
Speaker 1: surprises in there. So it's really just the I keep
Speaker 1: telling myself, like the whole keep calm, carry on, because
Speaker 1: if I don't, then you know, just my just might crumble. Ready, Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, thank you, thank you. Oh my god, you
Speaker 1: could see their faces, right, they're nervous. Oh my god,
Speaker 1: they're so nervous. Get them to calm down. Remember, people
Speaker 1: that go through first have the geaser and the people
Speaker 1: will go last. Check them make sure that they look
Speaker 1: right and say something you look great, and then send
Speaker 1: them out. Encourage them. We want them to succeed. Right,
Speaker 1: you ready my words of advice, just stay home free.
Speaker 1: I think things through. You know that you'll get a
Speaker 1: passing grade as long as you refresh interpeace evidence to
Speaker 1: breathe be yourself here for a reason. Okay, can you
Speaker 1: stay your name? My name is Cary Crawford. Okay, and
Speaker 1: you may begin your cross whenever you're ready. Good afternoon. Today,
Speaker 1: on direct testimony, you testified that you could recognize the
Speaker 1: suspect that robbed you. Thank all right over there robbed
Speaker 1: me and Veronica j of our stuff. I was very afraid,
Speaker 1: and you're sure about that. There's no doubt in my mind.
Speaker 1: Just as clear as it was that night, your honor,
Speaker 1: my approach the witness. You may this is just when
Speaker 1: marked defense Exhibit one for identification purposes. I am going
Speaker 1: to read the fifth row and you can just listen
Speaker 1: and look at it silently. This has not been admitted
Speaker 1: in evidence. You can't read that. I'm sorry, okay. Earlier
Speaker 1: we reviewed this document together and you read your name
Speaker 1: on the bottom. The document from the government says your
Speaker 1: name is not Bobby C. It says it's an alias.
Speaker 1: You are not truthful when conducting business with the police.
Speaker 1: I was very truthful. My name is Bobby C. Immediately
Speaker 1: after that incident, I had my name officially changed. Obviously
Speaker 1: is my correct name as of August two thousand. In
Speaker 1: the court of law, we can only go by the
Speaker 1: evidence that's admitted and the record, So I'll stick with
Speaker 1: the evidence that's admitted on the government document. I'm going
Speaker 1: to stop. I'm gonna stop you. You're on a fishing
Speaker 1: expedition to nowhere, enter the the dents. This is something
Speaker 1: that you are going to have to understand. We are
Speaker 1: going to help you to stay away from things that
Speaker 1: are called rabbit holes. I take it. You know what
Speaker 1: a rabbit hole looks like. Yes, you can never get out.
Speaker 1: And what's in the bottom of there nothing poop? Right,
Speaker 1: Rabbits live in the rabbit hole and they poop. When
Speaker 1: you go down to the rabbit hole, You're going down
Speaker 1: to a barrel of poop. You keep trying to do
Speaker 1: it a different way, and and that's gonna just put
Speaker 1: you behind. I need you to trust me so as
Speaker 1: much as work, and I could tell how much work
Speaker 1: you put into this. Thank you for the effort, but
Speaker 1: you didn't do what I asked you to do. Over
Speaker 1: the next eight hours, a line of nervous law students
Speaker 1: walk down Mosquito Alley to court, only to run into
Speaker 1: a buzz saw in the witness chair. Relax for a second,
Speaker 1: take a deep breath. Your questions are imperfect. It allows
Speaker 1: me to run around on you. You know what you
Speaker 1: want to do, and you want me to do it,
Speaker 1: but you didn't ask your questions that way. You took
Speaker 1: too many leaps in between. One other thing I want
Speaker 1: to cover with you. You're standing in the wrong place.
Speaker 1: There's a juror way over there. There's a juror there,
Speaker 1: and there, and there and there, and all of them
Speaker 1: had your back to them. Don't turn your back to
Speaker 1: the jury ever again. That's the last time you're going
Speaker 1: to do that. It is, in some cultures, the most
Speaker 1: disrespectful thing you can do. Right. I agree. I don't
Speaker 1: know what you're crying because you did great, But it
Speaker 1: was like the final like the relief, right, yeah, hurt,
Speaker 1: it's hot. And then I have one other in this comment.
Speaker 1: You're gonna hate. You can't stand like that anymore. I
Speaker 1: know my shoes broken. I don't care that stuff happens.
Speaker 1: You cannot cross your legs like that. You are sending
Speaker 1: a message to the jury that everything you're saying is
Speaker 1: not worth listening to. You cannot do that. You have
Speaker 1: a broken shoe, fight through it, you have a bunyan,
Speaker 1: fight through it. You were fighting through the other stuff.
Speaker 1: But you're nonverbal. Was saying, don't listen to me. Does
Speaker 1: that make sense? So I'm gonna caution you about overacting.
Speaker 1: So there was a little over the top. I think
Speaker 1: that's that's that's the nervousness. And when you're as smart
Speaker 1: as you are, when you pay attention to detail like
Speaker 1: you do, you don't have to act as much as
Speaker 1: I do. You were testifying through your actions and your words,
Speaker 1: the phrasing of those little statements that were coming out
Speaker 1: and two and go along with the body movement. What
Speaker 1: you were saying was I'm a liar, Like yeah, no
Speaker 1: one believes to shut up liar, m This is Jared Hall.
Speaker 1: A statement means an oral assertion, Britain assertion, or any
Speaker 1: other non verbal conduct if you intended at the assertion.
Speaker 1: He was called out by a j for talking like
Speaker 1: a farmer. During the early days of boot camp, a
Speaker 1: team member said Jared's voice reminded him of corn bread.
Speaker 1: I have no idea what you just said. Everything that
Speaker 1: you just said is like over my head. I'm not
Speaker 1: a lawyer. Let's take a step back. Mr C. You
Speaker 1: called nine one one on August twenty nine, and you
Speaker 1: gave on statements as part of your calling him. No,
Speaker 1: I'm not going to call that statements. I made a
Speaker 1: phone call. They asked me some questions. I answered them.
Speaker 1: Mr C, there's a copy. If you're not won one call,
Speaker 1: Please read silently as I read a loud line thirteen
Speaker 1: and fourteen operator, What did they take collar my wallet,
Speaker 1: my friends purse. They have all our credit cards in cash.
Speaker 1: They also have her phone. Okay, isn't that what I said?
Speaker 1: Mr C? Did I read that correctly? You're a good reader. Soon,
Speaker 1: no further questions. You're on m The more I pished
Speaker 1: you off, the better you get. Now you're going on
Speaker 1: some fishing. Look, you're you're on such a fishing expedition.
Speaker 1: I do a fishing rod with a reel. As soon
Speaker 1: as we fixed your fishing expeditions, you're gonna be all right, man.
Speaker 1: I did everything I could to just screw you up,
Speaker 1: and I screwed you up a little bit, but not
Speaker 1: that much. That impeachment when you didn't ask that one
Speaker 1: more question. When you walked away with the police report,
Speaker 1: you got what you needed, so that was perfect. What
Speaker 1: was the problem with the police report? You kept trying
Speaker 1: to impeach me on your on your guy doing it right?
Speaker 1: So what did I keep doing? Uh? Kept giving me
Speaker 1: a hard time about it? And I also appreciate that
Speaker 1: you try to change your presence in the room. Now
Speaker 1: we still got a little bit of that you know
Speaker 1: thing going on, but I'm okay with it. Don't kill
Speaker 1: yourself when you're doing good? Makes sense? All right? Good job?
Speaker 1: And is this done in a group setting? A j
Speaker 1: Is this the entire group together? It's an open, constructively
Speaker 1: critical station. It is, Katie, and it has to be.
Speaker 1: And the reason why is that a lesson for one
Speaker 1: is a lesson for all. If I have to teach this,
Speaker 1: if I have to go through that with every single person,
Speaker 1: I don't want everybody crying. I don't want anybody crying.
Speaker 1: There's no crying. And trial ads that what you're thinking
Speaker 1: trying and trial saying come on. Can you imagine when
Speaker 1: the judge admonishes you in a court and you start crying.
Speaker 1: I've been admonished by judges. I'm sure you've been admonished
Speaker 1: by judges there. I don't think there's a lawyer alive
Speaker 1: who isn't admonished by a judge at some point in
Speaker 1: their career. The last thing you can start doing is crying.
Speaker 1: So you might as well get admonished right now, so
Speaker 1: that you get used to being admonished when you do
Speaker 1: something that you shouldn't be doing. Hello, turn in your
Speaker 1: stuff to a j Please state your name Vanessa Skillman, okay,
Speaker 1: and you moved cross whenever you're ready, Mr she I
Speaker 1: am showing you. It has been previously marked as defense
Speaker 1: Exhibit one for identification purposes. Do you recognize this exhibit?
Speaker 1: This is your credit card. You're able to identify this
Speaker 1: as your credit card because of your name on the
Speaker 1: bottom left. This credit card is the same or substantially
Speaker 1: similar to the last time you saw this credit card.
Speaker 1: Much from the police report, from what was stated on
Speaker 1: the evidence collected from officer Yes, sir, right, the only
Speaker 1: item that was obtained was a credit card. Two credit
Speaker 1: cards to credit cards no further questions. All right, stop,
Speaker 1: I need you to pass. You didn't enter, Oh my god,
Speaker 1: staying character, You've done great. Can go through the process
Speaker 1: of entering in a piece of evidence. You're Mary. Approach
Speaker 1: the clerk. You might thanks, um, I would like to
Speaker 1: have this preliminary marked as defense Exhibit one for identification purposes,
Speaker 1: Your honor, I request that the evidence previously marked. Does
Speaker 1: defense Exhibit one for identification purposes be entered into evidence
Speaker 1: as defense exhibit one? Any objections, it is so admitted,
Speaker 1: your honor may published with the jury. You may, Hey, Vanessa,
Speaker 1: I learned something about you today. I'm so stressed. I
Speaker 1: learned something about you today. I didn't know you've been
Speaker 1: perfect all so. I was always going to be difficult
Speaker 1: with you. I wanted to see how far I could
Speaker 1: push you. You are so focused on just getting done
Speaker 1: that you're not listening. In the first half I had
Speaker 1: said to a bunch of questions, what's on the recording?
Speaker 1: Then on the second half I said m hm m
Speaker 1: hm hm to about five questions. It was four or five,
Speaker 1: I don't remember. I haven't told Karen. I was like,
Speaker 1: he's gonna say, and I need to go. Is that
Speaker 1: a yes, and so the record is not clear there, right. Listen, Vanessa,
Speaker 1: I think it's clear that every single coach and every
Speaker 1: single three y'all sees a potential superstar in you. If
Speaker 1: you don't stop and listen, and if you don't believe
Speaker 1: that you need help to get great, we'll never get
Speaker 1: there with you. You need to hear us, do what
Speaker 1: we ask, pay attention to what you're doing when you're
Speaker 1: doing it. When you go to the Army Air Force,
Speaker 1: Air Force, forgive me paying attention what you're saying. You
Speaker 1: will one day go back and remember this statement that
Speaker 1: I just gave to you. It's going to serve you well.
Speaker 1: And the fact that you cried tells me that you care. Normally,
Speaker 1: I would say, like generally my role in life is like,
Speaker 1: you don't practice until you get it perfect. You practice
Speaker 1: until you don't get it wrong. Andy Viscarra is a
Speaker 1: third year law student and the child team captain. So
Speaker 1: you can do it in your sleep. But I think
Speaker 1: at the stage that they're at, yes, you can over
Speaker 1: practice because then they're just thinking about what's the next
Speaker 1: step and making sure they don't make the next step,
Speaker 1: and they're not listening to the witness. UM, and that's
Speaker 1: a mistake we all made when we started training for
Speaker 1: this because you're just you're you're doing you your own show,
Speaker 1: which is fine, but if you're not listening to the witness,
Speaker 1: it's it's never gonna work. You. You practice until you
Speaker 1: can't get it wrong, until it's impossible. But yeah, at
Speaker 1: their stage, there's definitely over practicing, Like confidence is everything. Yeah,
Speaker 1: after a long wait, which incidentally gave her enough time
Speaker 1: to drive home and walk her dog, Genesis, Sealinas is
Speaker 1: a bundle of nerves. I'm a try a lot, very
Speaker 1: emotional sensitive any times it's about this trial, Like it's
Speaker 1: just like it gets very cracking. It's okay though I'm excited,
Speaker 1: but I'm like overthinking everything that they could bring up
Speaker 1: that I don't feel prepared for. And honestly, like you're
Speaker 1: probably going taking your dogs out was like a great
Speaker 1: mental break to kind of step away and because people
Speaker 1: have been here all day like overthinking and read playing
Speaker 1: and playing, so that you had that time to get
Speaker 1: some air. Oh yeah, I'm gonna telling you. Okay, thanks, Okay,
Speaker 1: so do you have the documents that you get had
Speaker 1: to Um, you can't really tell you what to expect,
Speaker 1: other than be calm, be competent. You know the packet,
Speaker 1: breathe something on expect. He comes up a minute on
Speaker 1: your feet. Um, and he's also your court reporter. Okay,
Speaker 1: You're gonna stand where you feel comfortable, but you should
Speaker 1: you should be closer to your ladies. Whenever you're ready,
Speaker 1: state your name, okay. I am Jenesis Sellieness okay, and
Speaker 1: you may begin your across whenever you're ready. Mr C.
Speaker 1: On August, you went out for drinks. I can't remember
Speaker 1: if it was. It might have been the thirtieth. I
Speaker 1: don't remember I was drinking. I would see a copy
Speaker 1: of transcript helped refresh your memory. If it has a
Speaker 1: date on it, it it probably would. I am showing opposing councel.
Speaker 1: Count Oh, I'm I am showing opposing counsel the transcript,
Speaker 1: your honor, May I approach the witness? You may? I
Speaker 1: am handing the witness the transcript, specifically referencing the very
Speaker 1: top header. Please look over the document carefully and look
Speaker 1: up at me when your memory has been refreshed. I
Speaker 1: am handy the witness Defense Exhibit one for identification purposes.
Speaker 1: You recognize this document I just handed you the City
Speaker 1: of San Antonio rap sheet report. I'm a little I
Speaker 1: don't know why she's here. I'm a little freaked out.
Speaker 1: Did you look at the rap sheet? I'm sorry, what
Speaker 1: do you want me? If you could please look? If
Speaker 1: you could please look at the rap sheet? You recognize
Speaker 1: this sheet? No, I've never seen this before in my life.
Speaker 1: I'm retrieving the document from the witness, Mr c. This
Speaker 1: credit card was retrieved from the defendants. UM, I'm assuming
Speaker 1: that's true. You have to ask, offer sand Lopo. This
Speaker 1: is your credit card. It is my credit card. No
Speaker 1: further questions, Ron, I think right about now, the people
Speaker 1: that went first or like thinking, boy, I'm glad I
Speaker 1: went first and not and not last. Um, because we
Speaker 1: will continually make it harder and harder for you. So
Speaker 1: you try to get me, you try to impeach me
Speaker 1: on a rap sheet that has somebody else's name on it,
Speaker 1: that goes back to yesterday with me saying don't do
Speaker 1: the hard stuff. Okay, you're not ready yet. I thought
Speaker 1: it would be in this of all under six o nine,
Speaker 1: I told you not to do six o nine. We
Speaker 1: specifically said that it's okay. I had the credit card
Speaker 1: backup plan. I practice, we did have the credit card
Speaker 1: backup plan, and I want to really applaud you for that.
Speaker 1: I didn't like the laughing. I'm sorry, right because it's
Speaker 1: out of the moment. Okay, I was doing stuff to
Speaker 1: take you out of the moment, but I wanted you
Speaker 1: to stay in the moment. If you want to be
Speaker 1: able to compete and then go be a good trial lawyer,
Speaker 1: we're gonna need to get rid of that, right. You
Speaker 1: got to think that every single time you're directing or crossing,
Speaker 1: or its opening or closing, it's real. Let's be serious. However,
Speaker 1: having said that, you have an incredible presence, Genesis, I
Speaker 1: think I think all week long everyone's been saying the
Speaker 1: same thing, that your presence is pretty amazing. So let's
Speaker 1: just work on that little thing so that you're so
Speaker 1: that you can keep the room exactly where you want them,
Speaker 1: which is eating out of the palm of your hand,
Speaker 1: house of your presence. Everyone started cry from stress starting.
Speaker 1: Not everyone cried. Not everyone cried. Yes, we caught up
Speaker 1: with Genesis later. So I did feel prepared going in.
Speaker 1: I did know what I was doing, but I didn't
Speaker 1: feel as confident as I did going in that Monday.
Speaker 1: By Friday, I was trying to stay afloat. I was
Speaker 1: trying to, you know, get everything out, and I did
Speaker 1: do everything correctly except that I was laughing. I was
Speaker 1: very nervous. I wasn't as you know, confident and as
Speaker 1: assertive as I should have been, and I think that's
Speaker 1: just because I was overwhelmed and I did start crying.
Speaker 1: A J told me I needed to be more assertive,
Speaker 1: and I think that's one thing I struggled with. I
Speaker 1: wasn't being the advocate that I needed to be for
Speaker 1: Professor A J or for our coaches. Um. So I
Speaker 1: didn't realize that I was, I guess, not meeting the
Speaker 1: expectations that they had wanted because I wasn't being asserted.
Speaker 1: So I don't know what maybe they thought, Oh, you know,
Speaker 1: she doesn't have what it takes. She she doesn't get angry,
Speaker 1: and I know that I have what it takes. I
Speaker 1: just wasn't showing it all. Right, A right, are you
Speaker 1: ready order? Can you say your name please? My name
Speaker 1: is Cole Dobby, your honor, okay, and when you're ready
Speaker 1: to getting your cross, you may begin. Obviously on the
Speaker 1: night of August, you went out with a friend. I
Speaker 1: met a friend. You met a friend, and that friend
Speaker 1: was Veronica J. She's just a friend. There's nothing going on.
Speaker 1: We're just friends. And you two went out to a
Speaker 1: bar that night. Did you were call making a nine
Speaker 1: one one call that night? I definitely did. When your
Speaker 1: guy robbed me. Would seeing a transcript of that one
Speaker 1: call refresh your memory? Approached witness Shaan. If you can
Speaker 1: read that, and once you're done refreshing your memory, can
Speaker 1: you look back at me. You two were robbed. We
Speaker 1: were by that guy over there, and these two individuals
Speaker 1: when they robbed you, they brandished a gun. I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: I said again. The two individuals who robbed you, one
Speaker 1: of them brandished a gun. Oh, they both had guns.
Speaker 1: Both had guns. Is your testimony today that both the
Speaker 1: individuals had guns? Yes, I approach the witness Shan. Obviously,
Speaker 1: this is a transcript of your one call from the
Speaker 1: night of August. By direct your attention to line number ten.
Speaker 1: If you can read along silently as I read aloud,
Speaker 1: they pointed a gun, took our stuff and run away.
Speaker 1: Did I read that correctly? So they pointed a gun
Speaker 1: at you that night? They pointed a gun. Each one
Speaker 1: of them had a gun. They them two people had
Speaker 1: a gun. Each Each of them pointed a gun at
Speaker 1: me and Veronica guns they if I may continue, when
Speaker 1: you saw them, you weren't able to get a good
Speaker 1: look at either of them. That's a fast statement. They
Speaker 1: don't have a gun in our face. It all happened
Speaker 1: so fast, it's really quick. Now on direct examination, you
Speaker 1: said that you got a good look at one of
Speaker 1: their faces. You never saw the police report. Now at
Speaker 1: the gas station, you saw police officers arrest to individuals. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think that's right. And at that moment of the arrest,
Speaker 1: you did not identify either of the defendants as the
Speaker 1: man arrested. I did not. For the question, arre m
Speaker 1: Mariella and Sinas was the first to arrive this morning,
Speaker 1: I can open my binder and have things. In fact,
Speaker 1: she was the first to arrive every morning during the week,
Speaker 1: quietly taking copious notes and working with the three l's
Speaker 1: on her trial strategy. So, yeah, all eyes are on you,
Speaker 1: but they're all eyes on you because you're the boss, right,
Speaker 1: You're the boss. Mario ELA's goal is to become a prosecutor,
Speaker 1: to try cases in a Special Victims Unit. Okay, please
Speaker 1: state your names, okay, and as soon as you're ready,
Speaker 1: you may begin your cross. Thank you, good afternoon, Mr Cy.
Speaker 1: On August fifteen of twenty nineteen, you were at Barbara restaurant.
Speaker 1: I was at a restaurant was named after a horse.
Speaker 1: But I can't remember if Barbara is a horse or not.
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't remember. If I show you
Speaker 1: a copy of your on one called transcript, would you
Speaker 1: be able to maybe refresh your memory with that if
Speaker 1: it's in there? Yeah, I think it might. And on
Speaker 1: that night, after you were getting some dinner and a
Speaker 1: drink with your friend Veronica, you decided the best decision
Speaker 1: was probably to walk her home. I didn't want her
Speaker 1: to walk home. What is relevance? Evidence is relevant if
Speaker 1: it a has any tendency to make a fact more
Speaker 1: or less probable than it would be without the evidence,
Speaker 1: and be the fact is of consequence in determining the action.
Speaker 1: This is irrelevant because it establishes the night and his
Speaker 1: ability to recall the events of that night. Okay, So
Speaker 1: when the guns were pointed at you, it was frightening, terrifying.
Speaker 1: It was hard to focus. I thought I was going
Speaker 1: to die. All you could really focus on was that gun.
Speaker 1: I looked right down that barrel and I was just
Speaker 1: waiting for the blast. So you couldn't really focus on
Speaker 1: anything other than that gun. No. I was also focused
Speaker 1: on Veronica j because I was walking her home to
Speaker 1: protect her, and I couldn't against that animal. And you
Speaker 1: were held at gunpoint. Yeah, and being held at gunpoint
Speaker 1: made it difficult to be able to focus on anything
Speaker 1: but your safety and veronica safety. I was there for
Speaker 1: Veronica the whole time, but it was hard to focus
Speaker 1: on anything other than that gun. Being held at gunpoint. Yes,
Speaker 1: no further questions, your honor. You didn't let it deter you.
Speaker 1: Her objection. You know what you need to get in.
Speaker 1: You know that you need it, and so you're going
Speaker 1: to find a way to make it happen. So that
Speaker 1: was pretty good. I'll say that your voice is awesome.
Speaker 1: I love it. I love the way that you projected.
Speaker 1: I mean, you fill up this room, and it takes
Speaker 1: a lot to do that because you're you're you know,
Speaker 1: you're self conscious about your voice when you start out.
Speaker 1: Just remember that keep it, never let that go, Never
Speaker 1: let the way that you walk up and back and
Speaker 1: up to their up to his face and put it
Speaker 1: in all that you're own in a courtroom. That's exactly
Speaker 1: what you have to do. I asked them in a
Speaker 1: comment because I don't like gushing over first year of
Speaker 1: trial team members too much. The reason why I think
Speaker 1: I'm so impressed is because I remember you from Monday,
Speaker 1: afraid to death, from the very first assignment. I would
Speaker 1: not have predicted on Monday what you did today. You
Speaker 1: had an amazing day. Thank you how to go in there?
Speaker 1: I feel it went well. It was definitely a little intimidating.
Speaker 1: I enjoyed it, but there were a few hiccups and
Speaker 1: definitely things that you can't really plan for. I didn't
Speaker 1: rehearse and rehearse to the point of memorization because I
Speaker 1: knew that Dean a. J Was going to throw some
Speaker 1: things in there that we we there's no way to rehearse,
Speaker 1: so to rehearse to the point of memorization really wasn't
Speaker 1: worth it for me having the three l's to be
Speaker 1: able to listen to me over at least enough to
Speaker 1: tell me what I'm technically doing wrong without knowing what's coming.
Speaker 1: What do I want to work for a while prosecuting,
Speaker 1: and eventually, after I spend a while prosecuting, working appeals
Speaker 1: for wrongful conviction. The worst thing a person can do
Speaker 1: is is knowingly put someone away the wrong way. Monday,
Speaker 1: we came together and we started from scratch. I want
Speaker 1: you to think ing a little bit of time that
Speaker 1: we've been together, where you were, who you were, and
Speaker 1: where you are right now. And I want to ask
Speaker 1: you this question, and I want you to just have
Speaker 1: this introspection. I like where I'm going, I like where
Speaker 1: I am. I look forward to the next challenge. If
Speaker 1: you say yes to all three of those, we have
Speaker 1: work to do starting on Saturday. If you didn't say
Speaker 1: yes to all three of those, you need to come
Speaker 1: see me, because this isn't for you. We are going
Speaker 1: to work you harder than you did this week. Some
Speaker 1: of you, several of you cried happy sad tears either
Speaker 1: today or yesterday or this week. You're going to cry more.
Speaker 1: You're gonna be upset at me, You're gonna be upset
Speaker 1: at yourselves. You're going to be upset at each other.
Speaker 1: You know you better than any of us. Can you
Speaker 1: take that kind of criticism? Can you be upset with
Speaker 1: your partner and still be respectful of them. If you
Speaker 1: can where your home. If you can't, I need you
Speaker 1: to come see me, and I want you to ask
Speaker 1: yourself if you like where you are and if you
Speaker 1: are and we're in a good place. The next day,
Speaker 1: the entire team gets together at a local bar in
Speaker 1: San Antonio. The two els are burned out, but they're happy.
Speaker 1: The three all spot the rookies a drink and pat
Speaker 1: them on the back. Welcome to the team, rookies. Everyone
Speaker 1: is anxious to find out who's going to be assigned
Speaker 1: to the upcoming trial competitions that are being held around
Speaker 1: the country. It was the hardest thing I've ever done.
Speaker 1: He was being extra, We'll put it that way. He
Speaker 1: was being extra as the witness. It was a lot.
Speaker 1: I cried, but it was like a good cry. And
Speaker 1: about two minutes before I went in the court room,
Speaker 1: my high heel broke and he had to walk back
Speaker 1: and forth in the court room, and it was dreadful
Speaker 1: every single time the next time I'll got there. For
Speaker 1: one were super true. The three els prepared us. The
Speaker 1: three els helped us. We probably would not have been
Speaker 1: as confident, and we didn't of them like right before,
Speaker 1: like you got this, Like it's fine. I think we're
Speaker 1: a solid group. I'm really excited to work with my
Speaker 1: fellow two els um. But I think just combine us
Speaker 1: with the three else and the support that they've shown
Speaker 1: us and and we're gonna be solid. Yesterday was a lot.
Speaker 1: I didn't cry in the room. I was trying before
Speaker 1: I got in the room. I was reflecting like I
Speaker 1: was raised by my my grandparents and they didn't go
Speaker 1: past third grade. You know, they were born in the South,
Speaker 1: raised in the South. They didn't even go past elementary school.
Speaker 1: And I'm standing in the law school and people are
Speaker 1: saying that you should be on a trial team. I
Speaker 1: felt like a weight of you gotta do your pass,
Speaker 1: you gotta just felt a weight of my family history,
Speaker 1: or I just felt a weight like if you get
Speaker 1: a chance to like sneak in the room, you gotta
Speaker 1: try to do your best because you don't always get
Speaker 1: a chance to even get in the room because they
Speaker 1: spent time to slammed the door. So this is new
Speaker 1: for me because I don't like to not know things.
Speaker 1: I don't like to be on not on top of
Speaker 1: my game. I don't like to not do stuff right.
Speaker 1: So this is stressful. When I don't get it right
Speaker 1: the first time, I can't give up have Vanessa s
Speaker 1: oh I cried, There was no I was on the
Speaker 1: ViRGE of tears, like I cried. There's like a lot
Speaker 1: of pressure whenever you're doing there's pressure on yourself because
Speaker 1: you want to be a good advocate. And then there's pressure,
Speaker 1: I guess, like all the external things because it's like
Speaker 1: I want to do well. I want to do well
Speaker 1: this course. I want to like show that I'm good.
Speaker 1: But looking back, I wouldn't have changed anything. So I
Speaker 1: think it's important to mess up because it's important to
Speaker 1: mess up how and something that doesn't matter or affect anyone.
Speaker 1: So I want you could be a better advocate and
Speaker 1: attorney later on when your client is actually relying on you,
Speaker 1: we know how hard you wor kind of like a
Speaker 1: little bit of a hell. We thanks everybody for coming out.
Speaker 1: We went to seven competitions last year. Our team this year,
Speaker 1: we're gonna go to eight competitions in the fall. I
Speaker 1: truly believe that our time is now. I know that
Speaker 1: Jason believes, at Maritza and Dad and all the coaches,
Speaker 1: we believe that our time is now to our two
Speaker 1: else before I tell the three ls where they're going.
Speaker 1: Every single three L will tell you the same thing.
Speaker 1: They sacrificed a ton for their personal development and for
Speaker 1: their team, for themselves and for each other. You have
Speaker 1: to be able to do the same thing if you
Speaker 1: want to be great. And we started working, you know, Monday.
Speaker 1: So for the National Trial League representing us, there are
Speaker 1: gonna be Kenneth Robin said, hell Will, Stephanie and John.
Speaker 1: The Battle of Experts was the next competition. It starts up.
Speaker 1: We're gonna be represented by Andy v Jasmine and we're
Speaker 1: gonna do something special. We're gonna add Cold of that list.
Speaker 1: The witness for us. He's only got one year, but
Speaker 1: you all saw him yesterday. He's are in that right.
Speaker 1: We were waiting for yesterday to make this foul call
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have. I really want to win. I want
Speaker 1: to win all of these. Those are our competitions. Two wells.
Speaker 1: I'm really proud of you. I'm happy to be your director,
Speaker 1: your coach. I want you to work really hard. These
Speaker 1: three l's have set they set a stage for you,
Speaker 1: So let's get to work. Let's work hard. Let's work smart.
Speaker 1: This last week is nothing like what I'm about to
Speaker 1: put you through. This is like hell preparation week. Work
Speaker 1: Stay with me, stay with us? All right, congratulations, All
Speaker 1: that's congratulates, Gonna get to go to the Generally, law
Speaker 1: students across the country are saying goodbye to their friends
Speaker 1: and family and they're free time. It's all about the
Speaker 1: team and the case. That is a great murder scenario
Speaker 1: for a mock trial because it's not your obvious, premeditated
Speaker 1: murder that was not supposed to happen. When they're done
Speaker 1: beating him to death, I think the de Niro character
Speaker 1: sort of says to the pesci character, would you do
Speaker 1: that's next time? On class Action. Class Action is a
Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Sound Argument. Created, produced, written,
Speaker 1: and edited by Kevin Huffman and Lisa Gray. Executive producers
Speaker 1: are Taylor Chacogne and Katrina Norvell. Additional story production by
Speaker 1: Jennifer Swan, Kristen Cabrera, Jason Foster, and Wendy Nardi. Sound design,
Speaker 1: editing and mixing by Evan Tyre and Taylor Chacogne. This
Speaker 1: episode had additional field production by Kristen Cabrera. For more
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