A Naval Aviator

As OA's Mock Trial coach, one thing you see is the component parts of a lawyer's job since no one player gets to do every part. The person who does the opening statement needs a different set of skills from the person who does the closing. It's the difference between a speedy lead-off hitter and a slugger in the five spot in a baseball line up. The team's clean up hitters are the cross examiners. Attorney's doing direct examination want to make their clients look good. They get to prepare everything in advance and if their careful not asking objectionable questions everything is sunshine and roses. Cross examiners live on the edge, the witness is against them, and the opposing attorney will do anything to protect that witness. Cross examiners train to ask leading questions-ones that only have a yes or no answer and which are banned from direct testimony. Cross examiners have to think on their feet, change at a moments notice, and if they are not careful they will ask the dreaded one question too many and blow an entire case out of the water. With all due respect to many fine student attorneys, the two greatest cross examination attorneys in OA Mock Trial history are Lindsey Manning and Stephanie Hoffman. Lindsey is now a first rate attorney who is in the process of relocating from New York to a big firm in Boston. Stephanie flies F-18s for the Navy.

Stephanie was an outstanding student at OA. A gifted writer and a dedicated runner as well as a Mock Trial star, she won an appointment to Annapolis. While there her competitive nature pushed her to excel in things from triathlon to aviation. When she graduated she had the option of flying jets for the Navy or helicopters for the Marines. She chose jets. Stephanie quickly became carrier landing certified. Since I've never been able to land a flight simulator on solid ground, I can't imagine the co-ordination it takes to land a jet on a deck that is bouncing up and down and pitching side to side. Stephanie has used her flight skills off carriers in the Persian Gulf. Recently, Lt. Hoffman became Lt. Latham when she married a fellow pilot as you can see from this recent photo of a woman and her plane.

Cleo is her call name just like Tom Cruise was "Maverick" in the 1986 classic Top Gun. The F18 is a multi-purpose jet capable of flying at nearly twice the speed of sound. In October Stephanie will be going to the Top Gun school in Miramar, California where she will be learning advanced dog fighting techniques. As of 2009 only 10 female navy pilots had been to Top Gun so Stephanie is a real pioneer. I'm very proud of her achievements as you might be able to tell, and as someone who has done a number of military biographies of Easton people, Stephanie and her Easton contemporaries-Lauren Harrington, Matt Bourne, Andy Salisbury, to name a few, certainly have done a great job upholding the town's patriotic traditions.