Lee Vining lands local mock trial win, heads to state

Lee Vining High School’s Mock Trial team defeated Coleville’s team of high school attorneys in a hard fought competition at Bridgeport’s historic courthouse on Thursday, Feb. 2. The two teams squared off in a fictional murder trial where the prosecution tried to convict a college student accused of murdering a classmate to cover up a cheating scandal. The defense worked to show that there were several people who could have committed the murder that evening. Each side called witnesses to help support their cause and offered arguments, objections and motions to see that justice was carried out. Judge Mark Magit presided over the trial, hearing all the testimony and delivering a verdict of guilty in both trials. Before lunch, Lee Vining’s prosecution team sent Coleville’s Matthew Clark to jail for murder and possessing a concealed weapon without a permit. After a break, Coleville’s team convinced Judge Magit to find Lee Vining’s Alek McKee guilty of murder, but Lee Vining’s Cory Forbes got the gun charge dismissed in a pretrial hearing.

Scoring each team’s attorneys and witnesses was a panel of local lawyers. Stacey Simon and Marshal Rudolph of the County Counsel’s Office and assistant District Attorney, Todd Graham graded each student’s performance over the course of the trial and when the scores were added up, Lee Vining edged out Coleville in both trials. With the victory, Lee Vining earned the right to represent Mono County in the state competition for the second year in a row. This year the state competition will be held Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24 at the Sacramento Superior Court. Lee Vining will compete once on Friday and three times on Saturday. Two undefeated teams will meet in the championship round on Sunday, March 25.

Each year the Constitutional Rights Foundation creates a new casebook for teams all over California. More than 8,000 students study the witness testimonies, analyze evidence and learn the legal precedents needed to bring their argument to life. In preparing for the trial, students develop a wide range of skills from complex research to public speaking. Competitions are then held at the county level with the winners traveling to the state competition in Sacramento. This was the second annual competition held by the Mono County Office of Eduction and was organized by Tammy Nguyen and Debie Schnadt. –Press Release