Tinian team returns from national mock trial championship
The CNMI Mock Trial Championship Team traveled to Columbia, South Carolina, where the 2000 National High School Mock Trial Championship was hosted by the South Carolina Bar on May 11-14, 2000.
Forty-two competing states and territories, including Guam and the Northern Marianas, vied for the championship trophy during the two-day competition. This year’s National High School Mock Trial Championship case, Calhoun v. Thurmond d.b.a. Jumbo Amusements, was a wrongful death suit involving a fall from a roller coaster.
The CNMI team beat six states, including Guam, in performance and delivery, and overall placed 41 out of 42 total participants.
Hawaii ranked 29th and Guam ranked 30th overall.
Karl Nabors, a senior at Tinian High School, enjoyed the constant praise after rounds from the judging attorneys as having a natural knack for his presentation and arguments. Nabors was also presented by the South Carolina Bar Association and the National High School Mock Trial Championship program the award of Best Attorney from the CNMI.
The rest of the CNMI team members from Tinian High School include sophomores Anthony Aguon, Abigail Evangelista, Farah Cabrera, Patricia Aguon, Natasha Diaz, Leveriza Mendiola, Hee Yeon Rhee, and freshman Antonio Borja. The coaches include Loren Sutton, legal counsel to the Mayor of Tinian; Lucia Blanco-Maratita, assistant attorney general; and Janet King, executive director of the Tinian Municipal Council. Teacher chaperones include David T. Perez and Florine Hofschneider.
“A number of government agencies, private individuals and firms donated funds that made it possible for the team to take part in this trip, and we want to thank them for their generosity,” said Mr. Sutton.
“I am very proud of these students,” said Mayor Francisco M. Borja. “It’s like the Olympics—we made it all the way to the national level, and even if we did not take home the gold, we’re still winners,” he added.
Mayor Borja and a parent of two of the team members, Maria Aguon, also accompanied the team to Columbia, South Carolina.
The 2001 National High School Mock Trial Championship will be hosted in Omaha, Nebraska, by the Nebraska Bar Foundation on May 10-13. The local CNMI Tournament will take place on Saipan in early March.
For more information on the Mock Trial program and to register a team from your high school, contact Sheila Bowman, Mock Trial coordinator for the CNMI at the Office of the Attorney General.
