- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Middletown High wins third annual Lake County Mock Trial competition
LAKEPORT, Calif. – In Lake County's third annual Mock Trial Competition in Lakeport on Thursday, Middletown High School team made it a three-peat.
The team beat out rival Upper Lake High in the competition, which was held in Judge Stephen Hedstrom's Department 4 courtroom on the fourth floor of the Lake County Courthouse.
As in past years, the event was held on a court holiday, giving the students exclusive access to the court facilities.
The two teams took turns in the morning and afternoon sessions presenting the prosecution and defense in the case People v. Shem.
The case brief explains that Evan Shem – a student studying for his master’s of fine arts degree at Hamiltonia University – is charged with one felony count of larceny for stealing a painting from wealthy art collector Marty McCulloch, for whom Shem was working as an intern.
Shem, who was a docent at McCulloch's art gallery and had a knack for painting copies of famous works of art, is alleged to have stolen the painting with the intent to replace it with a fake.
The prosecution alleged that Shem then planned to sell the painting to pay off his student debt and finance the remainder of his degree work.
The teams gave opening and closing arguments, presented evidence and cross-examined witnesses.
Students portrayed prosecution and defense attorneys, witnesses, the accused, the bailiff and even a court sketch artist.
Each session of the competition started out with the two teams taking turns at arguing in favor of a pretrial motion to suppress evidence.
The motion issue centered on the US Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure, and whether evidence found in a storage cabinet by a police detective would be admissible.
In the morning session, Middletown High School – at that point representing the defense – successfully argued for having the evidence suppressed, while Upper Lake High School's motion to suppress the evidence in the afternoon session was denied by Hedstrom.
Following Middletown's defense of Shem against Upper Lake's prosecution in the morning session, Hedstrom found that there was a question as to whether or not a crime actually occurred, finding Shem not guilty.
When Upper Lake tried to defend Shem from Middletown's prosecution in the afternoon, Hedstrom concluded that a crime had occurred, and that Shem had the motive, opportunity and method to carry it out, finding Shem guilty of the charge.
Following the competitive sessions, Hedstrom – who also presided over the competition last year – lauded the students for “an incredible performance.”
“You did really, really well,” he said, adding, “I think you for this experience.”
Hedstrom also gave the teams critiques, and took time out with them after the competition to discuss their performances.
In addition to Middletown High's win, individual students received awards for their efforts.
Individual awards went to Parker Spadaro, outstanding defense attorney; Donald Elder, outstanding bailiff; Mercedes De los Santos, outstanding defense attorney; Gracie Pachie, outstanding prosecuting attorney; Aiden Isaia, outstanding defense witness; and Hannah Flynn, outstanding prosecution witness.
Middletown's team will now prepare to head to the 34th annual California Mock Trial Finals, set to take place March 20 to 22 in Riverside.
The team will need financial assistance in order to make the trip.
One local group stepping up to help kick off fundraising is Lake County Friends of Mendocino College, which is providing $100 toward travel expenses, according to organization member Wilda Shock.
TEAM ROSTERS
Middletown High School
Donald Elder, Asia Firebaugh, Hannah Flynn, Soledad Garcia, Connor Gill, Rachel Harvey, Aiden Isaia, Jonathon Nance, Alixe Olson, Gracie Pachie, Gary Pickrell III, Noah Schenck, Audrey Showen, Trevor Smith, Parker Spadaro
Upper Lake High School
Mercedes De los Santos, Emily Dunn, Rhianna Eby, Megan Franco, Camden Goetjen, Haley Hunter, Christopher Johnson, Alexander Maupin, Isaiah McBee, Cristal Nieves, Indica Ramos, Valeria Robles, Isabel Rorabaugh, Adrianna Saldana, Steven Stump, Darren Swaney, Lyndsay Wade
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