California High Wins County Mock Trial Championship

SAN RAMON, CA — The mock trial team from San Ramon's California High School was named this year's championship team Thursday night at the 37th Annual Contra Costa County High School Mock Trials’ Awards Ceremony.

For seven nights over the past four weeks, 15 Contra Costa County high school teams battled it out inside Martinez courtrooms. The schools alternated, providing either a prosecution team or a defense team. Like their fellow mock trial teams throughout the nation, students presented People v. Davidson, a criminal case involving first-degree murder and a pretrial argument on the Fourth Amendment.

Teams from 15 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), El Cerrito (El Cerrito), Hercules Middle/High (Hercules), Heritage (Brentwood), Kennedy (Richmond), Miramonte (Orinda), Monte Vista (Danville), Pinole Valley (Pinole), Richmond (Richmond).

"Most of the teams begin their Mock Trial training when they began the new school year – which makes Mock Trials one of the longest seasons of all the participating schools’ sports and academic activities," said CCCOE Spokesman Jonathan Lance.

The California High team beat Alhambra High (Martinez) Tuesday night in the final round inside the Bray Courthouse in Martinez. The final match was judged and scored by First District Court of Appeal, Division Five, Justice Terence Bruiniers, along with seven Bay Area attorneys.

Also on Tuesday, Acalanes High (Lafayette) defeated Monte Vista High (Danville) in a consolation match.

This year’s top four teams were ranked: 1) California, 2) Alhambra, 3) Acalanes, 4) Monte Vista.

Team and individual results are posted on Contra Costa County Office of Education's Mock Trial results web page.

Led by teacher coach Brian Barr and attorney coach Larry Lowe, California High School’s Mock Trial team will now represent Contra Costa County at the California State Mock Trial competition March 16-18 in Orange County. The California state finalist team will then compete in the National Mock Trial Competition May 10-13 in Reno, Nevada.

California High last took county top team honors during the 2015 and 2014 seasons.

Photo credit: Jonathan Lance, CCCOE