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2016 State High School Mock Trial Champion: Seattle Prep High School

2016 State High School Mock Trial Champion: Seattle Prep High School

OLYMPIA—MARCH 20, 2016— Seattle Prep High School took top honors this Sunday as the 2016 Champion of the statewide YMCA Mock Trial Competition. The team is now eligible to compete for the national title May 12 – 14 in Boise, Idaho.

Washington Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu presided over the championship trial in Olympia with Seattle Prep and Franklin High School, both of King County, competing for the statewide title.

The top 12 finalists of the competition are as follows:

The Best Attorney and Best Witness awards for the weekend competition went to Vivian Noyd and Lili Italiane, respectively, both of Wenatchee High School.

For the Championship round, the Best Attorney and Best Witness awards went to Davis Pessner and Patrick Paulsen, respectively, both of Seattle Prep.

The championship competition began Friday with 24 teams — winners of their district competitions — competing from around the state in a three-day, four-round competition this weekend at the Thurston County Courthouse, arguing the plaintiff and defense sides of a fictitious civil lawsuit trial in which a person was wrongfully convicted of a crime, and is now suing for damages.

The YMCA Mock Trial program began in 1987 and is part of the YMCA’s Youth & Government program, which for 68 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; Sarah Clinton, Executive Director, YMCA Youth and Government Program at 360-357-3475, or cell 360-480-4838

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