Scotts Valley High Wins Annual Mock Trial Competition

Despite Santa Cruz High School's six-year winning streak, the former champion took second place after Scotts Valley High School won the Santa Cruz County Mock Trial Competition on Monday at the Watsonville courthouse.

“We did a lot better this year than we have in the past,” said Capella Yee, 17, of , who played a prosecution attorney for the mock trial. “We've been getting closer and closer every year, so it's kind of one of those things that you're expecting but more that you're hoping.”

After around three weeks of battling it out in the courtroom, seven high schools were narrowed down to four schools last Saturday. They went on to compete in Monday's final competition.

After two rounds of morning trials, and Scotts Valley topped and high schools and moved forward to compete in the final round Monday afternoon.

Lee attributed Scotts Valley's success in large part to its student witnesses.

“From this morning to this afternoon, the witnesses were miles better,” she said. “They did insanely well in the second competition, and they just really pulled through for all of us.”

Since last fall, the seven schools—, Harbor and Soquel also took part—have spent countless hours preparing for the competition.

As much work as it is, the consensus among participants and volunteers seemed to be that the wealth of information students acquire through participating was well worth the work.

Students learn everything from courtroom procedures and the constitution to rules of evidence and the burdens of proof. They also learn first-hand about the various players in the courtroom.

Furthermore, students were required to learn both sides of the case—prosecution and defense—and don't know which side they'll have until they're in the courtroom.

“They learn about legal cases and study not only the facts of this case, but they have discussions and reading assignments that have to do with the concepts involved here," said Santa Cruz County Superior Court Commissioner Stephen Siegel, who presided over Saturday's mock trial. "We have cyber bullying as an issue in our community and in our society that they get to discuss and present and debate.” 

Cyber bulling rested at the root of this year's mock trial case, as students argued over the constitutionality of the hypothetical Anti Bullying and Cyber-Bullying of Students Act (ABCS Act), in which a  fictitious student, Angel, was being harassed on social platforms and was said to have been assaulted with a deadly weapon by a gang-like school group called the Pirates.

Students worked with attorney, teacher and parent coaches to prepare for the case, and as it turns out, students weren't the only beneficiaries.

Commissioner Siegel said overseeing the mock trial was a nice change from his usual cases of juvenile delinquency, troubled families and crime that flood the courtroom weekly.

“It's great for us on the bench, because we spend a lot of time seeing people who are challenged and that are challenging to our community,” Siegel said.

“These are the future and the kids that are really doing well, so it's really exciting for us to see that and be reminded that it's not all what we see in the courtroom every day.”

Introduced in 1980 by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Mock Trail Program exceeds its mission of helping students learn about the judicial system and develop analytic and communicative skills by also serving to create strong friendships among competitors.

“All of the attorneys, we're really close friends,” Yee said. “It's kind of encouraging in that sense, especially with high school—you want to do something social, but it's hard to hit the books by yourself, so mock trial is a really great way to just get in that speaking time, learn how to argue something, learn how to think on your feet, how to be presentable and [still] have a social setting.”

Commissioner Siegel said all judicial officers and members of the legal community preside over the mock trial as volunteers.

“It's one of the obligations you have sitting on the bench, but also one of the fun little things we get to do, because it's really inspirational to watch these kids that have worked so hard—and they do better than experienced attorneys, in many instances,” he said.

Next, Scotts Valley High will compete in the state finals in March, and that winner will go on to represent California at the National High School Mock Trial Competition, involving teams from 54 states and territories, according to the Constitutional Rights Foundation website.

For information on how to start a mock trial at your school, visit the Constitutional Rights Foundation website.