Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

2005 State High School Mock Trial Champion: University Prep

2005 State High School Mock Trial Champion:  

Seattle’s University Prep

OLYMPIA, March 20, 2005— Seattle’s University Prep took top honors this Sunday as the 2005 champion of the statewide YMCA Youth and Government Mock Trial Program Competition.  The team is now eligible to compete for the national title this May in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Washington Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson presided over the championship trial in Olympia  with Fort Vancouver and Seattle’s University Prep competing for the statewide title.

Top ten finalists of the competition are as follows:

The Best Attorney Award went to Elisabeth Forsyth of Seattle Prep Academy and the Best Witness Award went to Cassandra Montano of Southridge High School.

A total of twenty high school teams from across the state competed for the title in a three-day, four-round competition this weekend, arguing the prosecution and defense sides of in the fictitious murder trial — “State of Washington v. Whislea Dwight” — in which a magician is put on trial for the 5-year-old unsolved murder of a street performer.   The case was written by King County Superior Court Judge William Downing, who serves as the state Mock Trial Program Chair.  

More than 30 judges and 120 attorneys statewide volunteered their time in the three-day event.  The competition is part of the YMCA’s Youth and Government program. 

PROGRAM CONTACTS:  Head Coach of University Prep’s Mock Trial program, Dawn Todd, cell# 206-999-6100; Judge William Downing, King County Superior Court 206-296-9362; Executive Director, YMCA Youth and Government Program, Janelle Nesbit, 253-370-1759.

# # # # #

Wendy K. Ferrell Judicial Communications Manager 360.705.5331 e-mail Wendy.Ferrell@courts.wa.gov

Lorrie Thompson Communications Officer 360.705.5347 Lorrie.Thompson@courts.wa.gov