Haines high schoolers turned the hallway into a courtroom Thursday as they suited up for a mock trial to charge a fictitious robber.
Mark Fontenot’s forensics class and Lilly Boron’s American government class, made up of sophomores, juniors and seniors, joined forces for the trial: Maryanne Crabtree v. Haines Sheldon Museum Board of Trustees.
Crabtree, played by sophomore Aurora Alten-Huber, was accused of stealing a Chilkat blanket from the museum.
Fontenot said students were each assigned a role. Government students played lawyers for the plaintiff and defense, the judge, jury members and witnesses. Forensics students played expert witnesses who testified on the stand about evidence found at the scene.
“This is something Lilly Boron and I conceived early in the year to combine our curriculum,” Fontenot said.
Fontenot said his students prepared real evidence for the fake trial by learning how to identify furs and fibers under a microscope, determine blood type, lift fingerprints, examine broken glass and analyze voice recordings.
Lawyers Parker Blair, Hudson Sage and Keegan Palmieri representing the prosecution, and Elena Saunders and Karl Gillham representing the defense, grilled Crabtree about her whereabouts on the day of the theft and called experts and witnesses to the stand including the museum owner, played by Brandt Alten-Huber.
While some of the testimony was scripted, Fontenot said it was up to the jury to determine the outcome like in a real trial.
The jury found Maryanne Crabtree guilty of the theft by a five to two vote, and she was escorted out by bailiff Fontenot. Investigators found a drop of her blood on the carpet near the broken display case and a mountain goat hair from the blanket on her clothing. A surveillance video showed her leaving the museum on the day of the theft with a full bag.
“I really enjoy acting, and it was fun doing that in front of the entire school,” Alten-Huber said. She said the mock trial served as her final exam for the forensics class, in which she scored 100 percent.
Haines Police chief Heath Scott and officer Adam Patterson watched the mock trial and were involved in a surprise ending. Patterson pretended to arrest fictional museum employee Cordelia Johnson, played by junior Skyler Smith, after the verdict was read when a bloody handprint found on a broomstick pegged her as the blanket thief.
Scott talked to the group about the real trial process after the mock proceedings and said he was happy the students could learn about the justice system.
The mock trial can be seen on the Haines High School YouTube channel.