St. Francis Team Wins
Mock Trial Event

SAN JOSE, CA – A team from St. Francis High School in Mountain View is headed to the state mock trial championship, after winning the 2009 Santa Clara County Mock Trial competition.

St. Francis defeated a team from Lynbrook High of San Jose and the Fremont Union High School District in the finals on Feb. 25 at the “Old Courthouse” in San Jose. The final was the culmination of a tournament put on by the Santa Clara County Office of Education and the Santa Clara County Bar Association.

About 400 Santa Clara County high school students participated in the 2009 High School Mock Trial Tournament. They had the opportunity to present their case before a sitting Santa Clara County judge. Attorneys from across the county participated as team coaches, while others donated their time to score students’ presentations.

In Mock Trial, a criminal court case is put together that would be of interest to high school students. The case requires interpretation of facts and relevant case law, the ability to understand difficult reading passages, and a little acting ability. Students get the opportunity to act as lawyers, witnesses, bailiff, or time-keepers for the event.

Judges and attorneys volunteer their time. The presiding judge for this year’s final competition was Jamie Jacobs-May. Scoring attorneys included District Attorney Dolores Carr, County Counsel Ann Ravel, Alternate Public Defender David Epps, Bar President Jil Dalesandro, Deputy Public Defender Andrea Flint, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Scharf and Senior City Attorney Steve Dippell.

The state competition will be held in Riverside on March 20-22.

Date last updated: March 5, 2009