After 4 rounds of competition, Amador Valley High School's Mock Trial Team has advanced to the county semi-finals. Out of the twelve teams competing this year they are one of four teams who are advancing to this level. The students compete again on Tuesday night against our long-time mock trial rivals, Piedmont H.S., for a spot in the county finals. Please join me in congratulating and encouraging the following students as they move on to this round of competition:
Defense Team
Attorneys: Linyan Tian (Pre-Trial), Marie McCoy-Thompson, Sean O'Connell, Brian Sherman (Team Captian/President)
Witnesses: Alice Wang, Nikita Mehandru, Rahael Borchers, William Chen
Bailiff: Ryuka Ko
Prosecution Team:
Attorneys: Matthias McCoy-Thompson, Vivienne Chen, Tanay Jaeel, Rishi Mukhopadhyay
Witnesses: Alice Wang, Dev Rishi, Emily Truax, Shreya Gupta
Clerk/Timekeeper: Janice Mao
Artists: Eve Yuan, Yuyan Hu
Journalist: Tina Zhou
For your information, the trial this year is an exciting murder trial. These students have been practicing since September for this competition, and try their cases before a real judge in a real courtroom. This is not just wrote memorization and regurgitation of prepared scripts. Students have a prepared case, but opposing teams may object to the line of questioning, and the judge routinely rules and asks questions of the students throughout the trial. They are truly impressive to watch.
The semifinal and final rounds take place in the Rene C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland. It's easily accessible by the Lake Merritt BART station, and parking is easy in the evenings when the rest of the courts are closed.
