Local High School Students Prepare for Mock Trials

Local High School Students Prepare for Mock Trials

            Student teams from local high schools will have their day in court soon. The annual Stanislaus County Mock Trials event is set to take place at 5:15 PM on February 2, 7, 9 & 16 at the Stanislaus County Courthouse, 800 11^th Street, Modesto. The semifinals and championship rounds between the top teams will be held on February 25 at 9:30 AM at the SCOE Tom Changnon Education Center, 1325 H Street, Modesto. An awards ceremony will follow at approximately 3:30 PM at the Martin G. Petersen Event Center, 720 12th Street, Modesto.

Sponsored by the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE) and the Education Foundation of Stanislaus County, the annual High School Mock Trials competition allows students to demonstrate acquired listening, speaking, reading, and reasoning skills. Working on teams, students study a hypothetical case, conduct legal research, and receive guidance from volunteer attorneys. Students gain a working knowledge of the judicial system and an understanding of the link between the United States Constitution and the substance of the law. Superior Court Judges conduct each trial, with the teams scored by law professionals. Eighteen volunteer scorers are required for each trial during the four competition evenings. If you are in the legal profession and interested in volunteering, please get in touch with Cheryl Goulart by phone at 209-238-1710 or by e-mail at cgoulart@stancoe.org. This year’s fictitious case, People v. Franks, is a robbery and battery trial featuring a pretrial argument on the Fourth Amendment.

Ten Stanislaus County high school teams are slated to participate: Beyer, Big Valley, Downey, Enochs, Enochs Black, Gregori, Johansen, Modesto, Patterson, and Turlock. The winning team will advance to the state competition scheduled for March 17-19, 2023, in Los Angeles.