Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

2007 State High School Mock Trial Champion: Seattle Prep

OLYMPIA—MARCH 25, 2007— Seattle Prep High School took top honors this Sunday as the 2007 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 Dallas, Texas.

Washington Supreme Court Justice James M. Johnson presided over the championship trial in Olympia with University Prep High School of King County and Seattle Prep competing for the statewide title. University Prep is eligible to compete in the American Mock Trial Invitational held in Brunswick, New Jersey.

Top ten finalists of the competition are as follows:

The Best Attorney Award went to Tyler Whitney of Kennewick High School, and the Best Witness Award went to three students in a three-way tie: Nicholas Aigner of Seattle Prep, Andrea Nelson of University Prep, and Shane Norman of Liberty High School.

For the Championship round, the Best Attorney Award went to Kelly Margard of University Prep, and the Best Witness Award went to Ruth Vizcaino of Seattle Prep.

A total of 20 high school teams from across the state competed for the title in a three-day, four-round competition this weekend at the Thurston County Courthouse, arguing the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious assault trial in which a musical megastar and a photojournalist clash with claims of privacy invasion and defamation. The case was written by King County Superior Court Judge William Downing, former state Mock Trial Program Chair.

This year marked the 20^th Anniversary of the YMCA Mock Trial competitions, which began in 1987. The Mock Trial Programs is part of the YMCA’s Youth & Government program, which for 60 years has helped students experience democracy in action. Mock Trial allows students to participate in true-to-life courtroom drama before real judges in real courtrooms, gaining an understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary.

PROGRAM CONTACTS: Seattle Prep Head Coach Andy McCarthy, 206-931-1058; Judge Robert Lewis, Mock Trial Program Chair at 360-397-2226; Janelle Nesbit, Executive Director, YMCA Youth and Government Program at 253-370-1757.

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