Murrieta Courtroom To Host 44th Annual RivCo Mock Trial: 'Death Of A Celebrity Chef'

MURRIETA, CA — Poisonous mushrooms and the death of a fictional celebrity chef are the key ingredients for Riverside County's 44th annual mock trial student competition.

Students grades 9 through 12 will compete by arguing cases in front of real judges while being scored by practicing attorneys.

The opening rounds of competition will begin Thursday, Jan. 22, across three locations in Riverside — the Robert Presley Hall of Justice in Riverside; the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta and the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

This year's fictional case, People v. Fromholz centers on the trial of Haley Fromholz, a chef and contestant on the reality television cooking show Recipe for Success, who is accused of killing celebrity judge Morgan Sears with poisonous “heartstopper” mushrooms during the filming of the show’s semifinal challenge.

Students on the prosecution and defense teams will argue disputed issues including premeditation, unlawful search and seizure, forensic evidence, and other legal questions during pretrial hearings and the trial.

“Mock Trial is a phenomenal opportunity for students to explore the legal profession, exercise critical thinking, collaborate as a team, and learn about the justice system,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Edwin Gomez. “Many current professionals—from attorneys and clerks to judges and criminal justice advocates—have credited their interest in this critical field to their experiences with Mock Trial, and we look forward to seeing the next generation of justice system leaders competing in our county courtrooms once again this year.”

Lawyers, judges and other legal professionals from across the county are among more than 15,000 students who have participated in Mock Trial since 1983. The competition, which spans a month, is funded by Riverside County Superior Courts, the Riverside County Bar Association and the Riverside County Office of Education.

Here are the teams that will begin in the opening rounds this week. The first team listed is prosecution while the second team is defense:

Desert – Larson Justice Center, 46-200 Oasis Street, Indio

• Palo Verde HS vs. Palm Desert HS
• La Quinta HS vs. Indio HS

Riverside – Robert Presley Hall of Justice, 4100 Main Street, Riverside

• John W. North HS vs. Notre Dame HS
• Centennial HS vs. Poly HS
• Vista del Lago HS vs. Ramona HS
• Valley View HS vs. Santiago HS
• Norco HS vs. Canyon Springs HS
• Patriot HS vs. Martin Luther King HS

Southwest – Southwest Justice Center, 30755-D Auld Road, Murrieta

• Paloma Valley vs. Hemet HS
• Chaparral HS vs. Liberty HS
• Murrieta Valley HS vs. Heritage HS
• Great Oak HS vs. Temecula Valley HS
• San Jacinto HS vs. St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School

After multiple rounds of competition, the month-long event will end with an awards ceremony that will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Riverside County Office of Education Conference Center, 4280 Brockton Ave., Riverside.

The final competition will be held on Thursday, February 19, at 6 p.m. at the Riverside Historic Courthouse at 4050 Main Street, Riverside.

For a complete listing of the schedules and locations for all rounds of the competition, visit this link.