Great Oak High School Comes in Second Place in Mock Trial Contest

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA - Riverside's Poly High School won their second consecutive title at the 34th annual Riverside County Mock Trial Competition Saturday, and will represent the county in the statewide event.

More than 500 students from 30 area high schools, both public and private, entered the county contest, but after five rounds held over the last four weeks, only four teams remained for Saturday's semifinal and final rounds at the Riverside Historic Courthouse.

The final results were:

• Poly High School, Riverside, 1st place
• Great Oak High School, Temecula, 2nd place
• King High School, Riverside and Murrieta Valley High School, Murrieta, tied for 3rd place

The Poly High School team will go on to represent the county at the State Mock Trial Competition, slated for March 24-27 in Sacramento.

The Riverside County Mock Trial Competition was sponsored by the Office of Education, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Riverside County Bar Association and the Superior Court.

The county began holding student-level mock trials in 1983, and more than 13,000 youths have participated since then, according to organizers. This year's contest challenged participants to successfully argue the fictitious case of People v. Awbrey, involving a restaurateur accused of human trafficking and false imprisonment.

Teams consisting of between eight and 25 youths played the parts of deputy district attorneys, defense attorneys, bailiffs, witnesses, clerks and investigators. Contestants were given an allotted time, generally four to six minutes, at each stage of a proceeding, including opening and closing statements and cross-examinations.

Practicing attorneys and judges assessed students' performance and awarded points in accordance with criteria established for the competition.

— By City News Service / Image of Poly High School team via Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools