Middletown >> Rachel Harvey took to the podium with conviction when she presented her argument as the pre-trial defense attorney in the case of the slaying of a college campus security guard. Though only a high school junior, Harvey addressed the honorable Judge Michael S. Lunas with the certainty and authority of a veteran lawyer.
That confidence stems from the “depth of experience” she and other team members have acquired as returning champions of the Lake County Mock Trial Competition, said teacher Kevin Palotti. Harvey is one of several Middletown High School (MHS) students who returned to the Lakeport courthouse on Friday and won the fourth annual Lake County Mock Trial Competition.
Sharply dressed in suits and ties, students from MHS and Upper Lake High School argued for or against the innocence of Jamie Hayes, the defendant in the fictional murder case.
The competition was created by the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF), to “help students acquire a working knowledge of our judicial system, develop analytical abilities and communication skills, and gain an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities as participating members of our society,” according to the organization’s website.
Each year, CRF produces a new set of mock trial materials based on issues facing today’s American youth. Mock trial teams receive packets with summaries of case law, witness statements, exhibits and simplified rules of evidence.
This year’s hypothetical criminal case concerns the murder of Lee Valdez, a guard at Central Coast University who Hayes allegedly murdered using a baseball bat. The defendant, a track and field athlete, is accused of striking Valdez when he witnessed him allegedly restraining Casey Barns, a suspect in recent vehicle thefts, with deadly force.
Both Lake County schools offer mock trial classes, where students study the case, learn the rules and develop their arguments with the help of attorney coaches who train the witnesses and lawyers to hone and shape their statements and questioning.
The materials for the mock trial competition were released in September, around the same time the Valley Fire unleashed its wrath on Middletown, Cobb and south Lake County. Palotti said with rumors flying that the school was destroyed, “it was very uncertain whether or not there was going to be a team at that point.”
Though the school still stood, five MHS mock trial team members lost their homes.
“It’s definitely an unusual year because of that,” the teacher said. “[The fire] is never too far from people’s minds, you just have to look at the hills and you get a constant reminder.”
With such a turbulent start, the team “had to really kick it in gear to cover the ground that we lost,” during the days MHS was closed because of the fire Palotti said.
On Friday, Lake County Office of Education Superintendent Brock Falkenberg looked upon the groups of students at the courthouse as they waited to hear the final outcome of the day’s competition, pleased to see students so enthusiastic.
Competitors receive scores during two hearings by a panel of judges which are then tallied up to find out which is the winning team.
Falkenberg noted that a number of the Upper Lake competitors were also members of the school’s academic decathlon team that recently won the county competition and qualified for state finals.
“At the end of the day I am so proud of the kids having done really well that they persevered,” Palotti said.
The MHS team will now head off to the state competition in Sacramento March 18 to 20, where they will go up against high school teams from 36 other California counties. Their focus now is “fine tuning everything that we’ve done,” Palotti said. “Fixing a few things here and there.”
It will cost $4,000 to take 18 students on the overnight trip, and the group is still short of its goal. With a moratorium placed on fundraising for school teams, so as to not put any more financial stress on the already devastated Middletown community, they are “scrambling to find donors,” Palotti said. Anyone who would like to help is encouraged to make a donation to MHS in care of the Middletown Mock Trial Team. They can also reach Palotti at (760) 670-8104 or kevin.palotti@middletownusd.org for more information on how to donate.
