On Nov. 7 and 14, JSerra Catholic High School hosted its 7th Annual Mock Trial with the participation of 24 teams from Orange, Riverside, and Santa Clara Counties. Some of the teams included Northwood, Pacific Coast, Homestead, El Dorado, Mater Dei, Sage Hill, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, Beckman, Notre Dame, Garden Grove, Tesoro, Fountain Valley, Woodbridge, and Segerstrom.

These trials give participating teams the opportunity to practice their trial skills and materials against strong competition in anticipation of the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) County competition scheduled this February.

Over the course of these two weekends, 48 mock trials were completed with medals awarded after each round to the outstanding student from each team. This year's trials were particularly challenging since they were all completed via Zoom. Students participated from home or at their individual school locations.

"The trials ran very smoothly and there were few technical problems," said JSerra Law Magnet Program Director Pat Ahle. "This event was very helpful to the teams since the CRF competition in February will be conducted using an online format as well."

This annual event is hosted and sponsored by JSerra; all participating schools do not pay participation fees.

"This is our way of contributing to the various school mock trial programs and to the growth of the individual students and teams," said Mr. Ahle. "It was a spirited and enjoyable competition."

Local attorneys served as judges, generously giving their time to support the trials and participants. The judges included attorneys from the Orange County District Attorney and Public Defender offices, the Anaheim City Attorney Prosecution office, and several private practice attorneys. Their efforts contributed to an outstanding competition.