Oak Hills High School (White Team) won its first San Bernardino County Mock Trial championship title when it competed against Redlands High School.
The event finals competition was held virtually on Jan. 22 and now Oak Hills High School advances to the virtual state competition in March.
“The performances were exceptional! I am so proud of all the students involved,” said County Superintendent Ted Alejandre. “Mock Trial is a fun and engaging way for students to acquire a working knowledge of our judicial system and develop analytical abilities and communication skills. These students have also gained an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities as participating members of our society.”
You may find the link to watch the Jan. 27 awards ceremony video here.
This was Oak Hills High School’s first year not only taking home the championship win but making it to the semifinals. The school is fairly new to the competition, joining the Mock Trial competition four years ago.
Redlands High School of Redlands Unified School District took second place in this year’s county competition. Redlands High School has been the county champion 16 times since it began competing. The team won its first championship in the 1992-93 season.
The Mock Trial competition is co-sponsored by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office.
Presiding Superior Court Judge R. Glen Yabuno congratulated both teams for their knowledge of judicial procedures and their preparation throughout the contest. He noted the closing arguments for both teams were two of the best he had heard in a very long time.
Over 450 students representing 28 high school teams participated in the Mock Trial competition this year.
The Mock Trial competition simulates a criminal case in which high school students portray principal courtroom attorneys and witnesses, representing both the prosecution and defense. Students present their case before a real judge and use constitutional amendments and legal objections. Each team had the opportunity to argue their case as both the prosecution and defense.
This year’s case is People v. Cobey. This fictitious trial focuses on Jamie Cobey, a defendant charged with the homicide of Cobey’s landlord and next-door neighbor, Erik Smith.
Cobey is accused of intentionally placing a venomous snake in Smith’s mailbox, which fatally bit Smith and led to his death. Prosecution teams argued that the defendant should either be convicted of first-degree murder or the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter.
Under the direction of coach Jeni Boulanger, assistant coach John Boulanger, attorney coach Angela Stangle and attorney coach Brandon Wood, team members from the Oak Hills White Team include:
Fiona (Arvin) Casillas
Savannah Albarado
Kailey Aranda
Skyla Bailey
Ulices Bucio
Jeffrey Buehler Jr.
Rebecca Caven
Layla Feger
Shantel Lewis
Nicholas Markloff
Melissa Martinez
Sandra Martinez Rivera
Eddie Menchaca
Sara Orellana
Valeria Ramirez
Annabelle Rash
Natalia Rodriguez
Justine Williams
Under the direction of coach Allison Cobb, assistant coach James Cobb, attorney coach Alberto Juan, attorney coach James Knox and attorney coach Jeff Lawrence, team members from Redlands High School include:
Nathan Alegre
Allison Allspaw
Santino Calvanico
Vidushi Dwivedi
Josephine Faulkner
Brileigh Guillen
William Howo
Jack Lawrence
Roselyne Lopez
Vanessa Makhlouf
Emma Moralez
Abhisri Narayanan
Ria Perencsik
Clarice Pham
Jude Rafter
Jackson Shamp
Julia Tolstova
Neha Vijay
Jaden Wee
Josephine Wyland
Oak Hills High School (White Team) will advance to the California Mock Trial Finals scheduled for March 17-20, 2022.
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