MIDDLETOWN— Middletown High School was declared the winner in this year’s Lake County Mock Trial competition and will now advance to state finals on March 20-22, 2020 in Los Angeles.
The Lake County Mock Trial competition took place on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.
Teams from Middletown High School and Upper Lake High School competed, with over 35 Lake County students participating.
Leading up to the competition, both teams practiced by competing against Mendocino county teams at a Mock Trial Scrimmage in mid-January.
The Constitutional Rights Foundation, the organization that founded Mock Trial, reported that this year’s case, “People v. Matsumoto,” concerns the trial of Bailey Matsumoto, the founder of a technology start-up that develops autonomous, self-driving trucks, who is accused of killing his spouse.
With the help of volunteer attorney coaches and teachers, students prepared arguments, evidence, and more for the county competition through Mock Trial classes at their schools.
Middletown High School coaches included Lee Hoage (Teacher Coach), Jon Hopkins (Attorney Coach), and Janina Hoskins (Attorney Coach).
Upper Lake High School coaches included Alex Stabiner (Teacher Coach), Anna Sabalone (Teacher Coach), and Judy Conard (Attorney Coach).
After the competition, individual recognition was given to the following students for their outstanding performance:
- Outstanding Prosecution Pretrial Motion Attorney – Alana Sanchez, Upper Lake High School
- Outstanding Defense Attorney – Erica Kinsel, Middletown High School
- Outstanding Prosecution Attorney – Henry Fenk, Middletown High School
- Outstanding Defense Witness – Jasmine Haro, Upper Lake High School
- Outstanding Prosecution Witness – Richard Guaydacan, Upper Lake High School
- Outstanding Clerk/Bailiff – Richard Perez, Upper Lake High School
Beth Hampson of the Lake County Office of Education explains, “This year’s competition would not have been possible without the support of volunteer judge J. David Markham and volunteer attorney scorers Daniel Flesch, Megan Lankford, and Kaly Rule.”
Lake County’s Mock Trial competition is run in partnership with the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the Lake County Office of Education, and Superior Court of California, Lake County.
According to Hampson, the Lake County Bar Association and the Lake County Friends of Mendocino College are generously supporting the team’s travel to state competition in late March.
For more information about Mock Trial, please visit lakecoe.org/CollegeCareer and https://www.crf-usa.org/mock-trial-program/what-is-mock-trial.
