• NEW: Mock Trial Season Calendar
• Note the changes: no practice on Dec. 22 or Jan. 14; practice round Jan. 13; first practice at the new school Dec. 27 This practice is canceled! First practice at the new school moved to Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 9 am.
• Mock Trial Wiki - post your material here for all team members and coaches to access and comment. Email me if you didn't get an invitation to join.
• Parent permission form / intro letter
• Mock Trial Courtroom procedures, O'Connor PowerPoint in PDF
• People v Lane case brief
• People v Lane errata
• People v Lane forms and downloads from CRF (exhibits, handbooks, rules, forms)
• 2008-09 Team Rule Book
• Rule Changes
• Timesheet
• Scoresheet
• Defense Pretrial Structure Chart (MS Word)
• Prosecution Pretrial Structure Chart (MS Word)
• Objection Cheat Sheet
• Opening Statement Basics
• Street Law Mock Trial Preparation Guide
• Witness Preparation Guide
• Student Attorney Guide
• Article: "Defense Closing Arguments: Strategy, Technique & Style," The Wisconsin Defender, Fall 2005
• Article: "Preparing and delivering and effective closing argument to a jury," Adam T. Boston, ABA Young Lawyers Division
• Scoring Judge/Attorney Handbook
• Fundraising Kit from the Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation Mock Trial Page

State Mock Trial Dates

Center for Youth Citizenship (our region's sponsor in Sacramento County)

Regional Mock Trial Dates

River City High School's Mock Trial team represented Yolo County as one of 32 county champions to compete in the state Mock Trial tournament in Riverside, California on the weekend of March 27-30. For the first time in school history, RCHS defeated another county's champion – Yosemite High School from Madera County – in a tournament round. Overall, the team finished with one victory and three losses. In the state tournament in 2000, the Raiders were soundly defeated in all four rounds; in 2007 the team competed in much closer rounds but still lost all four. The team’s coach, RCHS history teacher Gerald O’Connor, said “This year I watched with great pride as our students performed well and improved over past seasons.”

The team members are seniors Anisa Ahmadzai, Lindsey Davis, Fay Dennis, Mason Her, Stephanie Hertel, Yelena Ionova, Tamara Lopatin, Nazifa Hamdard, and juniors Ceanne Brunton, Jeannette Carpenter, Lacie Gunn, Bana Musallam, and Angela Sevilla. Coaching assistance is provided by local attorneys Pete Halloran, Greg Maxim, and WUSD board member Matt Stegman.

A mock trial is a simulated trial that features students in the roles of attorneys, witnesses, court clerks, bailiffs and jurors. Student teams throughout the state study the same hypothetical criminal case and prepare for prosecution and defense trial presentations in local competitions. Real attorneys serve as scoring and presiding judges. This year’s case centered on the alleged murder of a TV producer by a long-time associate; the defense contended that the killer was actually the producer’s girlfriend who was jealous over alleged infidelities. 

Locally, the competition is sponsored by the Center for Youth Citizenship, a program arm of the Sacramento County Office of Education. County winners go on to state competition; state winners compete in a national Mock Trial to be held in May in Delaware. The winner of this year’s state competition was La Reina High from Thousand Oaks, Ventura County who defeated Piedmont High from Alameda County.

In the first round on March 27, River City’s prosecution side was matched against a tough defense team from Pacific Grove HS in Monterey County. Monterey was very good, and both the morning and afternoon rounds presented the team with some valuable learning experience for future years. The defense team faced another strong school in round two: El Diamante HS from Visalia, Tulare County. Again, it was a very good team that gave RCHS a rough time, and the Raiders ended the day feeling a bit shaken.

Down but not out, the Saturday rounds saw a great improvement. The students did not fall apart, and they re-grouped and made two of their best presentations of the year. In the third round, the defense team rallied against Yosemite High, bringing home the school’s first-ever win in a state Mock Trial tournament. Anisa Ahmadzai's opening statement and Tamara Lopatin's performance as the defendant were impeccably delivered, and Ceanne Brunton's closing argument was her best at a clutch time.

A near-perfect ending to the tournament came in a very close loss to Las Plumas HS from Oroville in Butte County. The River City prosecution won the pretrial argument as well as the verdict, but not the totals on the scoring judges’ cards. There were standouts all around, but Yelena Ionova's forceful opening statement and Lindsey Davis's dazzling performance as star witness London Desmond were particularly noteworthy, as was Stephanie Hertel's last closing argument of her high school mock trial career. She deftly incorporated extemporaneous material with her prepared material, delivered entirely without notes and completely focused in on the judge (there is no jury in the state tournament), who even began nodding in agreement as she spoke. It was a perfect finish to a wonderful day,” Mr. O’Connor said. “All of the students were a credit to their school, the city of West Sacramento, and Yolo County.”

The team wishes to express its appreciation to the community and parental support it received and their gratitude especially extends to Principal Stuart MacKay, Assistant Superintendent Sue Brothers, Superintendent Steve Lawrence and Lyon’s Real Estate for their financial and moral support, attorney-coaches Pete Halloran, Greg Maxim, and Matt Stegman for their legal expertise, and all of the teachers, coaches, and staff members who gave their verbal support and best wishes.