MOCK TRIAL SHOWS CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM AT WORK
February 7, 2013
The 29th Annual Collier County Mock Trial Competition took place on Friday, February 1 and Saturday, February 2, 2013 at the Collier County Government Center (3301 East Tamiami Trail). Nine Collier County high school teams competed against each other for a chance to be crowned Mock Trial Champions. The schools included Barron Collier High, Palmetto Ridge High, Gulf Coast High, Naples High, Lely High, Seacrest Country Day School, and Community School of Naples. After four well-played rounds on a common case, the Championship round was played between Community School of Naples and Seacrest Country Day School. Congratulations to Seacrest as they won the Collier County Mock Trial Championship for 2013 and will move forward to the Circuit Level Mock Trial Competition on February 14th and 15th at the Lee County Justice Center.
Teams of six to eight students play the roles of witnesses and attorneys in this match-play competition. Each team played two rounds of Defense and two rounds as the Prosecution during this year's trial: a Criminal Case, State of Florida v. Regan Buschell. Teams were scored on their performance by local judges and attorneys according to a rubric designed for this purpose. In all, nearly $2,400 will be awarded in student scholarships by the Collier County Bar Association.
The Mock Trial is sponsored by the Collier County Bar Association, the Collier District Schools, the 20th Judicial Circuit Court, and the Florida Law Related Education Association. According to district Social Studies Coordinator Wendy Hodgson, “The purpose is to have students gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of the nation's legal system and for students to apply critical thinking, analytical reasoning and effective communication techniques to a real-life situation.”
Other awards went to:
- Best Witness Prosecution – Jake Hedin (Community School)
- Best Witness Defense – Rhodes Conover (Seacrest)
- Best Attorney Defense – Elise Russell ( Palmetto Ridge High)
- Best Attorney Prosecution – Matthew Saunders (Naples High)
- Ernestine Cousineau Award – “Team Scalia” (Lely High)
Given to the team for outstanding professionalism in advocacy – the most strict adherence to the Code of Ethics.
- Fourth Place Award – “Team Scalia” (Lely High)
- Third Place Award – “Team Roberts” (Palmetto Ridge High Team 2)
- Second Place Award – “Team Kagan” (Community School Team 1)
- First Place Award – “Team Sotomayor” (Seacrest)