Army – Navy legal professionals compete in opening statement competition

WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii — Soldiers and Sailors from across Oahu showcased their legal expertise during the 2024 Joint Opening Statement Contest hosted by the 8th Theater Sustainment Command in collaboration with the 7th Judicial Circuit Court here at the Wheeler Army Courthouse Nov. 26, 2024.

The competition pitted legal professionals against each other in front of a mock jury with Col. Jessica Farell, the 7th Judicial Circuit Court judge, presiding over each case to enhance the training scenario.

Lt. Col. Richard Connaroe, the 8th TSC deputy staff judge advocate, spearheaded the initiative, and brought the idea to fruition to get junior attorneys and paralegals more training and experience in the courtroom.

“I was on a run when the idea came to me,” said Connaroe. “We have junior attorneys and paralegals who need more practice in the courtroom, but there aren’t enough opportunities to get in the reps. I pitched the concept to Lt. Col. Healy and Col. Farrell and got positive feedback. After getting the green light from those two, I knew it was on, and I invited the different services and assembled a mock panel.”

Lt. Col. Jennifer Healy is the 8th TSC staff judge advocate.

The competition drew 24 participants from various units across the Army and Navy. For the paralegals, delivering an opening statement is a significant departure from their typical responsibilities of research and document preparation.

To prepare, participants were given a brief fact sheet from a historical case the day before the event. With limited time and resources, contestants developed their four-minute opening statements and presented their case in front of the 12-member mock panel. The jury evaluated each contestant across a range of topics from poise and elocution to clarity and persuasiveness.

Spc. Marco Chapa, a paralegal assigned to the 8th TSC, emerged as the top-performing paralegal, as he looked polished and confident when he delivered his remarks.

“I thought the training was as realistic as you can get,” said Chapa. “I had the perk of going last, so I got to watch and learn from everyone before me. So, when it was my turn, I just tried to stay confident, grounded in my approach, and clearly deliver my message. Fortunately it worked out.”

According to Connaroe, the mock jury was carefully selected and designed to mirror what attorneys could expect to see during a standard trial. Col. Todd Hanks, the 8th TSC deputy commanding officer, was the senior panel member that included a broad range of officers and enlisted.

“This was an outstanding training event,” said Hanks. “Seeing attorneys and enlisted paralegals from different services working together and competing was impressive. The 8th TSC SJA office did a phenomenal job creating a unique and valuable training opportunity.”

Although Army attorneys experience similar training in their basic officer course, the opening statement competition was unique because it offered the training outside of a school environment with a realistic mock panel.

“As far as I know, this is the first time this has been done Army wide,” said Connaroe. “By adding a mock panel and military judge, it completely changes the training environment. They aren’t standing in front of their peers. This is in the field. This is at a unit. I’ve never seen this or heard of anyone doing it.”

On the morning of the competition, Lt. Col. Stacee Cain, the 7th Circuit chief trial prosecutor at the Office of the Special Trial Counsel, delivered a short class to all the participants on best practices when preparing opening statements. Some contestants managed to work her insights into their opening statements as they made their final revisions.

The immediate feedback Connaroe received was overwhelmingly positive, with most attorneys fixated on the panel comments. Some commenting on how surprised they were on how their appearance impacted their credibility.

At the conclusion of the event, Farrell recognized her top four contestants based on her experience observing jury behavior in previous cases. Her selections differed from the jury’s choices, underscoring the subjective nature of trial outcomes.

Capt. Kristofher Beralo, an attorney with the Office of the Special Trial Counsel was the winner among the officers.

Connaroe intends to hold the competition annually, with the hopes of increasing representation from across the joint force.