Fictional hvac contractor XYZ Co. seemed doomed in the Mock Trial conducted by the South Carolina Association of Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors (The News, March 4, 2002). News readers who voted online at www.achrnews.com certainly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a guilty verdict.
But at the SCAHACC Mock Trial, it was the defending lawyer’s skillful emphasis on the homeowner’s responsibility that persuaded the mock jury to reach its “not guilty” verdict, according to education coordinator Jim Herritage. This points out that in an actual courtroom (or even in the Westin Francis Marion ballroom), many factors can affect the outcome.