PITTSFIELD — It was the kind of “gotcha” moment usually crafted by screenwriters for courtroom dramas, but it happened right here in a courtroom in Pittsfield.

A witness squirming under cross-examination. An attorney unleashing a fusillade of tough questions. A jury being directed to look at hard evidence.

Student attorneys stand as the jury leaves the courtroom to deliberate at the end of the Reid Middle School mock trial at Central Berkshire District Court on Thursday.

But the lawyer wasn’t being played by Gregory Peck or Reese Witherspoon. It was seventh grader Riley Cooper, who joined 13 other Reid Middle School students Thursday to take part in the annual Discovering Justice Mock Trial and Mock Appeal Program.

By helping middle schoolers throughout the state stage a mock trial, Discovering Justice hopes to give youth the opportunity to learn more about civic processes and develop their public speaking skills — and maybe even inspire some future attorneys.

This year marked Reid’s fourth year participating in the program, bringing students out of the classroom and into a real-life courtroom to argue a case before a judge and jury after a few months of coaching from local legal experts.

Even though the case was fictional, Judge Jennifer Tyne oversaw the court proceedings like any other trial: swearing in witnesses, granting lawyers permission to approach and maintaining decorum. But rather than tension and suspense, the courtroom was charged with enthusiasm and love as teachers and parents watched their young legal team spar from the audience.

At the end of the Reid Middle School mock trial at Central Berkshire District Court on Thursday, Judge Jennifer Tyne chats with student attorney Unique Agambilla at the bench.

Tyne used her remarks to teach the young pupils a sound lesson about the law: “No matter what the verdict is, whether it was for the plaintiff or defendant: We preach justice.”

This year’s case centered around a high school senior named Christine Johnson, a precocious art student and “class clown” accused of vandalizing her school building with a customized logo bearing her initials. After a stern conversation with Principal Horace Arnold, Johnson was hit with a seven-day suspension and lost a $10,000 art scholarship as a result — despite the fact she insists her innocence could have been proven if her principal had given her the opportunity to provide evidence before punishing her.

The question of whether the principal should have granted his student the opportunity to argue her innocence touches on the issue of due process, as outlined in the Fifth and 14th constitutional amendments.

Judge Jennifer Tyne chats with student attorneys while the jury deliberates during the Reid Middle School mock trial at Central Berkshire District Court on Thursday.

The plaintiff’s legal team had worked diligently after school over the past 10 weeks to develop the argument that Cooper, the young upstart attorney, would present to key witness Principal Arnold: The logo spray-painted on the school building differed significantly from the one Christine Johnson had been known to doodle, suggesting that an academic rival was trying to frame her.

Holding up photocopies of both logos for all to see, Cooper pressed the witness: “These aren’t the same, are they?”

Ashley Ceasar, an "attorney" for the defense team, uses photos as evidence in court while cross-examining a witness during the Reid Middle School mock trial at Central Berkshire District Court on Thursday.

Local attorney Raymond Jacoub, playing the role of the principal, had to concede: “No, they are not.”

“No further questions, Your Honor.”

It was a cinch: their client got off scot-free.

Student defense "attorney" Alexander Bartlett celebrates his team’s victory in the courtroom at the end of the Reid Middle School mock trial at Central Berkshire District Court on Thursday.

Latifah Ahmed, the eighth grader who portrayed the accused student, said that her character was very grateful to her attorneys for successfully arguing her innocence. As herself, she expressed awe at the opportunity to experience legal proceedings firsthand and explore a future career in law.

“To just have the experience of being in a real courtroom with a real judge,” she said. “It feels great.”

And though the trial pitted the students against each other, there were no hard feelings afterward. Ahmed shared a hug with one of the student attorneys who had tried to argue her guilt.

Their cases were argued before 11 jurors, many of them teachers at Reid. For the first time, Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti also took a seat in the jury box to help pass judgment on the mock case.

Mayor Peter Marchetti sat as a member of the jury on the mock case on Thursday. “Just watching the students perform — they all did a great job with their role," he said.

“Just watching the students perform,” he said, “they all did a great job with their role.”

Local attorneys Jennifer Carpenter and Ahmed Ismail provided legal counsel to the students throughout their 10 weeks of preparations, and were on hand to provide real-time guidance to students throughout the trial.

Attorney Ahmed Ismail, the legal mentor for the Reid Middle School mock trial prosecution team, consults with the team during the trial at Central Berkshire District Court on Thursday. “I hope they get a taste of what it is to be an attorney in the future,” he said.

For Ismail, who participated as an adviser for the first time, signing on was a no-brainer.

“I could not say no,” he said. “It’s a great cause.”

“I hope they get a taste of what it is to be an attorney in the future,” he added.