Two students of Fagaitua High School, Jadelynn Toma and Dorrin Tuisamatatele made their presence felt at a mock trial competition, at Furman University in South Carolina.
They were the first and only students from the South Pacific to compete in Furman’s Top Mock Program, which attracted competitors from across the nation.
Unlike other national competitions, where students present weeks or months of research and study, in Top Mock, all you’re given are the case files, affidavits, autopsy reports, police reports, etc. 
Students are challenged to build a case in only one week with peers they have never met before, working on a very tight 7am-11pm schedule. On Day 6, they enter the courtroom for trial before a federal judge and panel.
On July 16th, our local student attorneys held trial at the Carroll Campbell Federal Court House in Greenville.
In a trial, lasting 2 1/2 hours, Jadelyn Toma delivered her pre-trial argument before a federal court judge and three separate judges seated in the jury box.
Meanwhile, Ms. Dorrin Tuisamatatele was a witness for the prosecution in the same trial.
Students were individually scored by judges in the jury box, based on individual performance.
Teacher Kaylla Peolaina Turituri said, the two students performed well under aggressive and lengthy questioning.
With three judges scoring every trial, Jadelyn’s team won as the prosecution and defense in two trials while Dorrin’s team won as the defense.
Turituri reported that with 1-10 ratings per judge, the local students performed “absolutely divine” with scores ranging from 6-9.
The legal team from American Samoa thanks the Department of Education, the American Samoa Bar Association and attorney Mitzie Ta’ase, for their support. They also express appreciation to Furman University’s Glen Halva-Neubaur and coaching staff, as well as the Samoan community that came out to support then from Greenville, Kentucky, Georgia and Texas.
