MENDOCINO COUNTY MOCK TRIAL PROGRAM

The County Mock Trial program is sponsored and coordinated by the Mendocino County Office of Education.  The Mock Trial program requires high school student team members to assume the roles of the attorneys and witnesses involved in a fictitious criminal trial that is based on an important issue currently facing America's youth. Each team is linked with an attorney coach who helps student attorneys/witnesses prepare a defense pretrail motion argument, opening/closing statements, witness questioning/response, and general courtroom etiquette. There are also components to the event that will integrate school art (Courtroom Artist) and English (Journalist) departments into the competition.

Each year The Constitutional Rights Foundation works with the state's legal community to develop the case fact pattern, witness statements, allowable evidence, and all other information that teams will need into a self-contained casebook.

Members from all aspects of the local legal community, including judges, district attorneys, public defenders, alternate defenders, and private counsel volunteer their time to coach teams or score/officiate during the competitions.

PRESS RELEASE

LAYTONVILLE HIGH STILL

COUNTY MOCK TRIAL CHAMPS 

FEBRUARY 2, 2013

2013 MENDOCINO COUNTY STATE MOCK TRIAL TEAM

LAYTONVILLE HIGH (L-R) Back Row: Teacher Coach Bruce Potter, Christina Mackey, Isabel Shere, Colten Gover, Jessie Sue Atkinson, Conner Beardsley.  (L-R) Middle Row:  Mitzi Person, Heaven Gunter, Jacob Wallace, Sophia Lassotovich, Jayden Losee.  (L-R) Front Row: Pretrial Motion Coach Amy McHenry, Hanani Ikeh, Sierra Polson, Junia Ikeh, Emma Braught, Attorney Coach Elizabeth Norman.  (Not pictured Attorney Coach Sarah Potter)

UKIAH, CA

COUNTY FINALIST TEAM

FORT BRAGG HIGH 

Developing Virtue Girls School

Submitted 1.26.13

People v. Vega, Developing Virtue Defense v Ukiah High Prosecution

MAYOR'S DAUGHTER ACCUSED OF HIT-AND-RUN CRIME

 UKIAH, CA; Mendocino County

 

The conclusion of a rigorous two hour trial saw swim star and Mayor's daughter Adrian Vega guilty of not only running over the bicyclist Cameron Douglas, but also of neglecting to aid the victim in the wake of her previous crime. To add to the intensity of her crime, the defendant also falsified her testimony by casting blame on her fellow teammate, the foreign exchange student Toni De Luca.

 

On the night of April 19, Adrian Vega and Toni De Luca were driving home from a successful swim meet. However, the ride home was not as smooth since triathlon competitor Cameron Douglas was run over by Ms. Vega's speeding car and seriously injured. The driver, however, did not stop. Thankfully, though, the violent collision did not go unnoticed. Quinn Liu, who lived nearby, witnessed the entire incident and later appeared in court to testify. Ms. De Luca, Mr. Douglas, and Ms. Liu all claimed that Ms. Vega had been driving the car. However, Ms. Vega denied these statements.

 

Later, at Ms. Vega's home, Ms. Vega was questioned by Officer Kelly Wright, and made an incriminating utterance during the casual interrogation. Following an aggressive pretrial motion, it was ruled that, because the defendant was not aware of her Fifth Amendment rights, the defendant's statement would be suppressed.

"Ms. Vega was held in the back of a caged police car. A reasonable person would be intimidated," attorney Unica Yepez said in her rebuttal, countering the prosecution's insistence that Miranda warnings had not been required.

 

The case quickly resumed after the pretrial motion. According to the prosecution attorney Joanna Slinker, the defendant was guilty violating California Vehicle Code Section 20001 by failing to help the injured victim. In a passionate opening statement, Slinker shines a sympathetic light on the victim Cameron Douglas.

 

"Cameron has been damaged both physically and emotionally. Because he may never compete in a triathlon again, his world has been ruined," Slinker said.

 

Cameron himself testified that Adrian Vega had undoubtedly been the driver of the car that ran him over, affirming that he recognized both Ms. Vega and her black Bueller. The defense responded by arguing that there was not enough evidence to accuse Ms. Vega of the crime. Prosecution attorney Rachael Burner, however, thought differently.

 

"Who wouldn't want to be the Mayor's daughter when committing a felony?" Burner asked. "This case, however, is not about popularity. It's about cold, hard facts. Adrian has made not one but two victims and she has taken advantage of Toni De Luca, foisting her guilt upon her unaware team mate." This powerful closing argument, strengthened by previous testimonies, secured the case for the prosecution.

 

Due to the abundance of evidence, as well as the overwhelming evidence presented by the neutral eye witness Quinn Liu, the judge ruled the defendant as guilty. There is no set date for sentencing.

PRESS RELEASE 

MENDOCINO COUNTY MOCK TRIAL COMPETITION

  January 26 and February 2, 2013

UKIAH, CA    

Five local high school teams will compete in semi-final competition at the annual County Mock Trials at the Mendocino County Courthouse in downtown Ukiah on Saturday, January 26, 2013, beginning at 9:30 with second round beginning at 1:00. Semi-final competition will continue the following Saturday morning February 2, 2013, at 9:30 with the top two teams advancing to the final round of competition to be held that afternoon beginning at 1:30. This student enrichment activity is funded and coordinated by the Mendocino County Office of Education.

The finalist teams will compete for the right to become the holders of the County Mock Trial perpetual trophy for the coming year, and for the honor of representing our county at the state competition to be held in Riverside, March 22-24, 2013. The awards ceremony on February 2 is scheduled to begin at approximately 3:30-4:00 p.m.  

High school teacher coaches recruit students to participate in this academic enrichment activity each year. Approximately 90 students represent the five high school teams. Participating schools and coaches are: Developing Virtue Girls' School (coach-Jin Jr Shi), Fort Bragg High (coach-Marc Boele), Laytonville High (coach-Bruce Potter), Redwood Academy of Ukiah/Accelerated Achievement Academy (coach- Ed Andersen and Rod Logan), and Ukiah High (coach-Logan Silva). Pleasant Valley High (coach-Charles Copeland) from Butte County will come to even out our competition schedule on the first Saturday with only the top four Mendocino County teams advancing to the next Saturday.

The County Mock Trial competition gives high school students the opportunity to experience the American judicial system first-hand. Student teams will argue both sides of a fictitious case developed by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, the statewide coordinators of the event.  

Student team members will portray all key roles in the case of People v. Vega, the trial of Adrian Vega, a prominent resident of Hidden Valley and child of the Hidden Valley mayor. Vega is charged with failure to perform a duty following an accident (commonly referred to as felony hit-and-run). The pretrial issue centers on the Fifth Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court decision as set forth in Miranda v. Arizona. The event also includes components for courtroom artist and journalist competition.

Members from all aspects of the local legal community, including judges, district attorneys, public defenders, alternate defenders, county counsel and private attorneys volunteer their time to coach teams or score/officiate during the competitions. Eight are coaching teams this year, including Matthew Finnegan and Jennifer O'Brien (Developing Virtue), Amanda and Patrick Pekin ( Fort Bragg), Elizabeth Norman and Amy McHenry (Laytonville), Joshua Rosenfeld (Redwood/Accelerated Achievement Academies) and Katharine Elliott (Ukiah).

For more information about the County Mock Trial program, please contact Carolyn Brown at the Mendocino County Office of Education, (707) 272-8682. 

2012-2013 CRITICAL DATES

TEAM STRUCTURE AND GUIDELINES