Today I had the chance to interview Joseph Marchese. Joe is currently a junior who has been attending OP for three years now. For the last two years, he has been part of Oratory’s Mock Trial Club. During this interview, we are able to gain insight into his role on the Mock Trial team.

How long have you been doing mock trial?

I joined last year (2018-19 season) so this will be my second year on the team.

Would you like to study law in college?

That’s the first thing people ask when they find out I do Mock Trial, but I honestly can’t see myself getting a law degree. I wouldn’t be opposed to doing something law-related in the realm of business (which is what I want to study) but in terms of a law degree itself, I don’t think so.

What is one word that you would use to describe yourself?

Hardworking. I really pride myself on the fact that I do put in a lot of time and effort into things I want to be good at, like Mock Trial, in order to succeed.

Do you currently have a personal goal (or goals) for this season? If so what are they?

The goal this year is to get to nationals, meaning we’d have to win counties, regionals, and states (which is a completely realistic goal for the team this year). However, a personal goal for me is getting the team to win the regional championships. I watched the team suffer a hard loss last year in the second round of regionals and would really like to see us crush the competition this year. 

What are some challenges you face during the seasons? How do you resolve them?

Choosing the roles is always the most challenging part of the season. You have to take a lot into consideration and often times more guys deserve roles than we can give. You also have to take the amount of time and effort guys put into the team when choosing roles which can be hard, especially if you know someone has the potential to be a really good witness or attorney but they just don’t want to put in the work. Ultimately, the decision comes down to who’s going to help the team the most, and everyone on the team knows that. 

Does anyone in your family a lawyer? If so who? Did they have any impact on you deciding to do mock trial?

I actually don’t have anyone in my family who is a lawyer. I really just got involved in Mock Trial on my own but I’m been really lucky to have my entire family supporting me and always wanting to hear about the case and the team overall.