After months of preparation and practice, almost 200 High School students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District demonstrated their public speaking and legal skills, Friday, May 6th at the 2016 Cleveland Mock Trial Competition, presented by the Cleveland Municipal Court and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation.
Contact: Ed Ferenc, Public Information Officer
Cleveland Municipal Court
216 664 6787 / 216 789 2597
ference@cmcoh.org www.cmcoh.org
(Cleveland, Ohio) — After months of preparation and practice, almost 200 High School students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District demonstrated their public speaking and legal skills, Friday, May 6th at the 2016 Cleveland Mock Trial Competition, presented by the Cleveland Municipal Court and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation.
This year, 10 teams competed and the winner was John Hay’s Early College Team Truth. Ginn Academy finished in second place and John Hay’s School of Science and Medicine came in third.
The top prosecuting attorney was Anjali Patel of Facing History, Top Defense attorney was Ray Robinson of John Hay Early College Team Truth and the Outstanding Witness award went to Natalie Perry of John Hay Early College Team Truth.
At the awards ceremony, Cleveland Metropolitan School District CEO Eric Gordon and Pierre Bejjani, President of the Cleveland American Middle East Organization (CAMEO) saluted the students for their hard work and the lessons learned from this year’s case, which involved a violent confrontation between police and various activist groups upset over anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim slurs.
“We witnessed some very talented students who were able to put a face on a problem that has been the subject of much debate in the media today. Mock Trial is all about teaching critical thinking and these students did just that,” said Cleveland Municipal Judge Lauren C. Moore, who wrote the case and oversees the program, now in its 20th year.
Mr. Bejjani was impressed with the case, “because it engaged the students, so they can better understand the effects of hatred and bigotry,” he said.
Jessica Paine, Assistant Director of Community Programs and Information for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association said they are proud to partner with the local schools and the Cleveland Municipal Court and she echoed Judge Moore’s comments.
“We’ve seen first-hand the far-reaching effect involvement in programs like the mock trial can have for kids, giving them a chance to build confidence and fine-tune skills that will serve them well outside the courtroom, like thinking on your feet and working as a team,” she said.