YHS Mock Trial winners advance

submitted

 

Yosemite High School will again represent Madera County at the State Mock Trial Competition, scheduled for March 28-30, 2003, in Riverside.

The local high school both ended the past and began the new millennium with winning teams in the years 2000 and 2001.

Winning team members are Bree Boyd, Brook Bullock, Katy Bohigian, Christine Casner, Jessie Fischer, Angela Gerow, Landon Grossi.

Also, Amit Gurnani, Kristen Lukan, Gabriella Ripley-Phipps, Jason Koczanowicz, Veronica Stewart, Paige Turpen, Ally Watt and Elizabeth Zielins. Team coach is James Lee.

They competed with teams from Madera High School and Yosemite Alternative High School.

Students from Yosemite High School to receive special recognition were Amit Gurnani, Pretrial Motion Attorney for the Prosecution; Veronica Stewart, Prosecution Trial Attorney; Elizabeth Zielens, Witness for the Prosecution; Amit Gurnani, Pretrial Motion Attorney for the Defense; Kristen Lukan, Defense Trial Attorney and Jessie Fischer, Witness for the Defense.

Yosemite Alternative High School students whose presentations merited special recognition were Chantel Easley, Pretrial Motion Attorney for the Defense; Christina Marsh, Defense Trial Attorney and Amber Haynes, Witness for the Defense.

Additional members of the Yosemite Alternative High School team were Burton Bessinger, Jessica Brittain, Andrew Browne and John Christoffersen.

Also, Kathryn Mascola, Stewart McCluskey, Brian Mommer, Joe Montelongo, Kenny O’Brien, Maggie Ramos, Eddy Schwartz and Pietie Tegtmeyer. Rick Solomon is their coach.

The competition simulates an actual criminal court case and students are the trial participants. Each school provides a prosecution and a defense team. A round consists of one school’s prosecution team competing against another’s defense team.

Volunteering as judges this year were the Honorable Edward Moffat (Madera Superior Court) and the Honorable Jennifer Detjen (Superior Court Judge for Madera County).

Judges and attorneys scoring the teams’ performances were the Honorable Nickolas Dibiaso (Fifth District Court of Appeal, Fresno), David Jenkins, Bryan Martin, Steve Mortimer, Doug Nelson, Roberta Rowe and Eric Wyatt.

The 21st Annual Mock Trial Competition was sponsored by the Madera County Office of Education and the Madera County Schools Foundation.