MBHS Mock Trial Team members pose inside the L.A. Courthouse where the Mock Trial State Championships were held. Pictured from left are: Phaedra Fernflores, a junior; junior Maggie Appel; senior, Cecilia Petacci; junior, Astrid Barnett Davis (in light blue shirt); and, sophomore, Vena Fryer Photo courtesy MBHS
The Barbary Pirates of old didn’t get their day in court, rather, they faced the hangman’s noose as a matter of rote, but some local high school Pirates had a chance to show off their courtroom skills in a statewide competition.
Morro Bay High School students once again represented SLO County in the Mock Trial State Championships and while the team didn’t win, one of their members did take honors for portraying the defendant in the made-up case.
MBHS Government teacher, Josh Waldman, has been organizing the Mock Trial Team for the past seven years and this is the third-straight SLO County Championship they’ve won.
The County title qualified the team to compete at the State Championships held in Los Angeles on March 14-16 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown L.A.
MBHS’ Mock Trial Team and coaches and chaperones posed for a group photo at the school before departing to much fanfare on March 13. Photo courtesy MBHS
Some 32 counties sent their local winners to compete for a chance to represent the State in the National Finals, set for May 7-10 in Phoenix, Ariz.
The overall champs were from Trinity Pacific Christian School in Ventura; with Hillsdale H.S. from San Mateo County second; and Dos Pueblos H.S. of Santa Barbara County third.
Fourth went to El Dorado School in Orange County and in fifth was Flintridge Prep of L.A. County. Sixth was Tamalpais H.S. of Marin County; seventh was La Jolla Country Day School of San Diego County; with eighth place going to Carmel H.S. of Monterey County.
MBHS’ Orion Rea was honored as the Outstanding Defense Witness, playing the defendant in the fictitious case, Logan Gold.
he MBHS Mock Trial Team poses inside the courtroom of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Downtown Los Angeles. Photo courtesy MBHS
His award was one of several individual honors available — for prosecution and defense attorneys both pre-trial and at trial; outstanding witnesses both defense and prosecution; Outstanding Clerk; Outstanding Bailiff; plus awards for Outstanding Courtroom Artist; and even a Courtroom Journalist Contest. Some of these awards were co-sponsored by the American Board of Trial Advocates Foundation.
The competition is sponsored by Teach Democracy, which has put on the mock trials in California since 1980 (formerly called the Constitutional Rights Foundation).
The statewide program “helps students acquire a working knowledge of the judicial system,” reads a news article from the Mock Trial website, “develop analytical abilities and communication skills, and gain an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities as participating members of our society.”
In this year’s case of political intrigue, the teams were to “argue the fictitious kidnapping case People v. Gold. The defendant, Logan Gold [Rea’s role], has been charged with the kidnapping of Taylor Alexander, who is a rival candidate to Gold’s spouse Harper Dorais in a city council race in the rural mountain town of Emerald Bend, Calif.
“Gold is the assistant campaign manager to their spouse and is also the sole hotel owner in town.
“The prosecution argues that Gold had political and financial motives for abducting Alexander. The defense argues that Gold was without a cell phone and GPS tracking the day Alexander was abducted, which was the day of the city council candidate debate.
“The pretrial issue centers on a defense motion to exclude a potentially incriminating statement made by Gold while in police custody.”
MBHS’ Mock Trial team consists of 24 students who prepare year-round for the competition. The kids are from Cayucos, Morro Bay and Los Osos and come from a broad spectrum of the student body.
Many of these kids compete in Mock Trial all four years of high school and this year’s team has nine seniors.
