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11 schools slug it out in mock trial tourney
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Posted on Mar 18 2005
Approximately 100 high schools students trooped to the CNMI’s courtrooms yesterday in formal suits to slug it out in this year’s CNMI High School Mock Trial Competition.
“It’s the biggest turnout this year. We have 11 high schools participating, including those on Rota and Tinian,” said mock trial coordinator Teresa Kim.
“Those kids worked so hard for about three months outside the school. [They] worked five to 10 hours a week to prepare for the competition,” Kim added.
The team that would emerge as champion after the scheduled championship round at noon today would represent the CNMI in the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 5-7. U.S. District Court chief judge Alex Munson would act as judge in the championship round.
Participating schools include the Calvary Christian Academy, EUCON International School, Grace Christian Academy, Kagman High School, Marianas Baptist Academy, Marianas High School, Mount Carmel School, Northern Marianas Academy, Saipan Southern High School, and Tinian High School.
The teams would act as prosecutors, defense attorneys, and witnesses in a fictitious criminal case—the alleged homicide of one Martha Cruz, a fictitious defendant accused of murdering her husband, George Cruz.
Over 20 lawyers serve as coaches for the various teams, while 50 members of the CNMI Bar Association extend their assistance as judges in the competition, Kim said.
Last year, Saipan Southern High School bagged the crown in the local competition, breaking Tinian High School’s four-year reign in the annual contest.
Former CNMI Supreme Court Justice Ramon C. Villagomez started the mock trial competition in 1999 to bring local high school students into the courtrooms.
“The goals of the competition are [to] promote and further the understanding and appreciation of the judicial system, court procedures, and the legal system, to promote better communication and cooperation between the legal and educational communities and to improve awareness of current social and legal issues,” Kim said.
