Finals: February 16, 5:15 – 8:00 p.m., Granite Hills High School Legal Justice Center, Porterville
The finals of the 2023 Tulare County Mock Trial competition will take place this evening at the Granite Hills High School Legal Justice Center in Porterville. University Preparatory High School (UPHS) in Visalia will play the prosecution against Exeter Union High School’s defense.
The Mock Trial teams are comprised of 10 to 20 students who take on the roles of lawyers, witnesses, court clerks, and bailiffs. All teams must make their presentations based on identical hypothetical case materials. Each team, coached by local attorneys and school personnel, presents the case for both the prosecution and defense twice during the course of the competition.
All teams present their cases before actual judges and attorneys, with three attorneys scoring the trial. Members of the public, parents, students, and teachers are always welcome to attend any of the trials.
For 2023, Mock Trial student participants throughout California will be preparing the fictitious case People v. Franks – the trial of Jordan Franks, who is accused of stealing a fellow actor’s signet ring – a ring once owned by William Shakespeare.
The Mock Trial Program is sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and co-sponsored by the California Department of Education, the State Bar of California, the Young Lawyers’ Association, and the Daily Journal Corporation. The Tulare County Office of Education coordinates the program locally, with assistance from local attorneys and judges.
The champions from the final round of the Tulare County Mock Trial Competition will be eligible to compete in the annual state finals March 17-19 in Los Angeles.
For more information, contact Paula Terrill at the Tulare County Office of Education at (559) 651-0565 or [email protected].