Chester students impress senior judge in mock trial
Students tested their legal expertise with a mock court session before Chester Crown Court's most senior judge.
The competition saw two teams of law students compete in front of Honorary Recorder for Chester, His Honour Judge Steven Everett.
A moot is a mock court advocacy exercise - replicating a case that would be heard in higher appeal courts, such as the Court of Appeal or Supreme Court.
It is not concerned with establishing fact, but on establishing the correct interpretation of the law.
Having a real judge enabled students to experience the reality of professional court advocacy.
The moot focused on identification evidence and the timing of force in a robbery case, replicating an appeal case at the Court of Appeal.
Louis Smith and George Swindles represented the defendant for this moot case, with Serena Cornes and Megan representing the Crown.
After providing his judgment on the case and declaring a retrial necessary, HHJ Everett commented on the high quality of all participants.
The judge declared the appellants, Louis and George, as winning the moot.
Serena Cornes said: "With a lot of encouragement from my professor, John Morrow, I built up the courage to take part in my first mooting competition, an experience I'm truly grateful for.
"After working closely with Andrew and developing our advocacy skills, my partner and I were thrilled to make it to the finals.
"It was an incredible journey that pushed me out of my comfort zone and gave me real confidence in my future career path.
"Having HHJ Steven Everett judge the final was the cherry on top of a fantastic experience and I can't wait to take part again."
Megan Arnold added: "Mooting has been such a valuable experience.
"Advocating in front of a judge has provided me with a newfound confidence and the feedback received from both Judge Everett and KC Andrew Ford is something I will carry with me for the rest of my career.
"This mooting competition gave a real insight into real court advocacy.
"Despite how nervous I was during this experience, I have never been prouder of myself and this is all thanks to our incredible lecturer John, who has been so supportive from the beginning."
For more information about mooting at the University of Chester, visit here.
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