Greenwich mock trial team hoping to head to semifinals

GREENWICH, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A local mock trial team is taking what they learn from the classroom to the courtroom. The Greenwich High School Mock Trial Team started in 2010 as an informal debate club, and it's gotten bigger and better ever since.

While the case they have to argue in the New York State Bar Association's competition is hypothetical, they get their dose of real world criminal justice experience with field trips to the Washington County and Saratoga Springs Courthouses.

But the club isn't only for teens who want a jumpstart on their future legal careers.

"It's valuable for many reasons. Public speaking, self-confidence," Greenwich Mock Trial Team Advisor Brenda Saunders said. "We have six attorneys and six witnesses for each side, and so even if they're not interested in law, we also like to get a lot of the drama club students involved. It just gets them out of their comfort zone, and they have to think on their feet."

And the Greenwich team is on a winning streak. This weekend, Wake Up With 10 for Giuliana Bruno's full story as the students hope to take things to the semifinal round.