California High Named Contra Costa County's High School Mock Trial Champion

Announcement information submitted by Contra Costa County Office of Education:

After a number of speeches made by the coaches and individual awards given out to participating students, the exciting 34th Annual Contra Costa County High School Mock Trial’s Awards Ceremony concluded with the naming of this year’s championship team: California High School (San Ramon).

California beat Alhambra High, this past Tuesday night in the final round, inside the Bray Courthouse, in Martinez. The match’s final scores were not revealed until tonight. This is the second year in a row that California High School has won the county competition.

Contra Costa County Presiding Judge Hon. Steven Austin was on hand to address the large crowd, congratulate all the participants, and hand out the Mock Trial awards.

“I’ve been involved with Mock Trials for 15 years, and it’s still so much fun to watch your hard work and talent come together in our courtrooms. At work, I often hear my fellow judges, who volunteer with Mock Trials, speak so highly of how well you all did the night before, during your matches. We are all so impressed! The skills you honed for Mock Trials will certainly be an asset to you, when you go on with your continued education and careers!”

Most of the teams begin their Mock Trial training when they begin the new school year – which makes Mock Trials one of the longest seasons of all the participating schools’ sports and academic activities.

For the past four weeks (seven evenings), the California High School and sixteen other Contra Costa County high school Mock Trial teams have been battling it out with each other inside the superior courthouse courtrooms of Martinez. California High School will now represent Contra Costa County at California State Mock Trial competition, held in Riverside, Calif., March 20-22.

The state finalist team will then compete in the National Mock Trial Competition, held in Raleigh, NC, May 14-16.

Teams from the following 17 Contra Costa County high schools competed:
Acalanes (Lafayette), Alhambra (Martinez), California (San Ramon), Campolindo (Moraga), Clayton Valley Charter (Concord), De Anza High (Richmond), Deer Valley Law Academy (Antioch), Dougherty Valley (San Ramon), El Cerrito (El Cerrito), Hercules Middle/High (Hercules), Heritage (Brentwood), Kennedy (Richmond), Las Lomas (Walnut Creek), Miramonte (Orinda), Monte Vista (Danville), Northgate (Walnut Creek), Pinole Valley, and Richmond (Richmond). The top four teams finished in this order:

1. California

2. Alhambra

3. Las Lomas

4. Acalanes

For all the team and individual results, visit the Contra Costa County Office of Education’s Mock Trial Web page – complete results will be posted by 2/27, late morning.

Mock Trial is an academic event for high school students coordinated by the Contra Costa County Office of Education, and sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation. The purpose of this program is to teach students about the law and the workings of the legal system. To prepare, the students conducted legal research and received guidance on courtroom procedures from their schoolteachers and volunteer attorneys and judges, to acquire a working knowledge of the judicial system.

This year, an impressive 112 Bay Area practicing and retired attorneys, senior law students, and sworn judges volunteered their time to serve as Mock Trial Attorney Scorers and Judges. These volunteers represented judges from Bay Area Superior Courts, the California Bankruptcy Court, and the California Appellate Court. Attorney Scorers included Bay Area attorneys from county District Attorney and Public Defender offices, the State Attorney General’s Office; and the California Department of Justice. Also assisting were non-profit, public, private, and corporate attorneys. In addition, senior students from five Bay Area law schools lent a hand in scoring.

Photo courtesy Shutterstock

Also on Patch:

• PHOTO: Oakland Athletics Baseball Player Supporting Dublin Teen Fighting Cancer
• Police: 1 Dead, 1 Critically Wounded in Hercules Home
• 5 Albany Middle School Students Hospitalized After Ingesting Pills
• Trio of Danville Break-Ins Early Tuesday Similar to One Last Week
• Livermore Man Convicted of Murdering Former Friend
• Puppy Killed, Mama Dog Traumatized When Both Dumped From Vehicle in Santa Cruz County
• $15K Reward Offered for Suspect in Fatal Hit-And-Run in Oakland