River News Now Breaking News Travel

Yuma, Arizona - High school students from La Paz County and Yuma County will compete in the Regional Mock Trial competition held on March 8th, 2008.  The competition will take place at the Yuma County Justice Center (Superior Court), located at 250 West 2nd Street, and is open to the public. 

 

The program is sponsored by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education, and the State Bar of Arizona Young Lawyers Division and the Yuma County Bar Association.  The rounds are presided over by judges from courtrooms all over Arizona and Yuma is no exception.  The following judges will preside over the regional competition here in Yuma:

 

Honorable Philip L. Hall                              Arizona Court of Appeals
Honorable Patricia A. Orozco                        Arizona Court of Appeals
Honorable Andrew W. Gould                             Superior Court of Arizona
Honorable John N. Nelson                                 Superior Court of Arizona
Honorable Mark W. Reeves                              Superior court of Arizona
Honorable Kathy Stocking-Tate                         Superior Court of Arizona
Honorable David F. Cooper                        Justice of the Peace
Honorable Jorge A. Lozano                        Justice of the Peace

 

The coaches for the various teams are as follows:

Lake Havasu High School: (Teacher Coach) Bill Young and (Attorney Coach) Tom Jones; Yuma High School: (Teacher Coach) Kristie Wiencek and (Attorney Coaches) Edward Feheley, William Kerekes; Yuma Catholic High School: (Teacher Coach) Steve DeDecker and (Attorney Coaches) Michael Breeze, Kristi Riggins, Mary Perez, Conrad Mallek, James Coil, Charlie Platt and Chris Weede. The Regional Co-coordinators are Theresa Fox, Deputy Yuma County Attorney and Jon R. Smith, Yuma County Attorney.

About Arizona’s Mock Trial Program
Mock Trial gives students interested in law, public speaking, or even performing arts opportunity to learn from practicing attorneys and attorneys have an opportunity to share their legal expertise and skills. Mock Trial teams consist of six to eight students, a teacher/coach, and an attorney/coach. Each team must learn both sides of a fictional case and play the roles of both attorneys and witnesses. Teams work together to learn the facts of the case and create strategies for trial.  This year’s case is a civil rights lawsuit in which a tuberculosis patient who was suspended from school for failing to comply with the treatment plan contends that the suspension actually was motivated by the patient’s religious beliefs.

 

 The goals of the Arizona High School Mock Trial Program are to give students a better understanding of the legal system - from the rules of evidence to proper court decorum, increasing their awareness of the importance of law in a democratic society and strengthens understanding of their fundamental rights under the U.S. Constitution, and to promote increased confidence, poise, oral skills, critical thinking skills and teamwork skills.