2003 YMCA Mock Trial

Introduction

Thank you for participating in the 2002-03 YMCA Youth & Government Mock Trial competition. We hope you find this case to be relevant, educational, entertaining and lots of fun.

The case combines two of my favorite activities: soccer and high school mock trial. While the characters in the case are completely fictitious, the fact pattern and legal issues are entirely realistic.

I wrote this case to explore two emerging sociolegal issues. The first one is whether too much violence is permitted in sports. The second one is whether the criminal court is an appropriate forum in which to "replay" an act of violence committed within the context of an organized and officiated athletic event.

I do not have answers to either of these questions. Let's explore them together as the Maradona County Prosecuting Attorney takes on Taylor Garrison in State of Washington vs. Taylor Garrison.

I want to give special thanks to three people whose generous commitments of time, experience and expertise made this case possible. First, to my daughter, Maya Mendoza, who is a senior All American soccer player at the University of Puget Sound. Maya's creative writing skills and wealth of experiences with coaches, referees and players made our characters come alive. Second, to King County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mike Lang who provided valuable editorial comments, researched the issues for the pre-trial motion and drafted the Information, jury instructions and case summaries. Finally, to King County Superior Court Judge William Downing, our mentor and taskmaster, for his editorial comments, encouragement, proofreading, advice and whip-cracking. He kept us on task and on track.

Good Luck.

Frederick Mendoza
Curran Mendoza P.S.
Case Author