CARMEL WINS MOCK TRIAL
High school legal team heading for state competition
By KAYVON SHARGHI
Herald Staff Writer
Updated: (Tues) 02/11/2009 08:59:30 AM PST
A first-place finish at the 11th Annual Monterey County Mock Trial has guaranteed Carmel High School a place at the state-level competition next month in Riverside.
The 15-member team bested defending champion Pacific Grove High School in a closely scored final trial Feb. 7 at the Monterey Courthouse where Judge Robert O'Farrell presided over the hearing.
"We've been at this for four years. The students were so excited to win," said Bill Schrier, team coach and teacher of AP government, politics and world history at Carmel.
Saturday's championship win was a first in Carmel High School's history. The win was made even sweeter by defeating rival Pacific Grove, which beat them in last year's final.
But Schrier admits competing at the state level is a whole new game. Forty teams from high schools throughout the state will be vying for a chance at competing in the national spotlight May in Atlanta.
"We're going to the major leagues now," Schrier said. "Every team there won their county. The students know we've got tons to do to get ready."
Several awards were granted to members of Carmel High's team at the competition, including: Best prosecution motion attorney, Emily Robinson; Best defense motion attorney, Ariane Knapp; Best prosecution trial attorney, Courtney Hill; Best bailiff, Sergey Neronov; Best court clerk, Dmitry Neronov; and Third-place courtroom artist, Joey Karwal.
The Monterey County Mock Trial competition is held each year by The Lyceum,
a nonprofit organization in Monterey that creates enrichment programs for K-12 students. Sponsors of the event included the Monterey Bar Association, Law Offices of Michael J. Whilden and the Constitutional Rights Foundation.
Kayvon Sharghi can be reached at 648-1171 or mhcity@montereyherald.com.
Carmel students celebrate winning a mock trial... (COURTESY OF PETER FUNT/Special to The Herald)
