Supervisors Honor Mock Trial Winners

Eighth-graders at St. Michael and All Angels School were honored Tuesday by the county supervisors for winning first place in a countywide mock trial competition held in December.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky gave the class a special certificate from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, capping several days of recognition that began Friday with the students receiving individual awards from the Los Angeles City Council.

“We were the only school that utilized its whole [eighth-grade] class for the team, which made it a really wonderful experience for us,” said St. Michael teacher Madelyn Inglese, who coached the team.

“The students united and they really enjoyed the experience. The success that they achieved, and receiving all these awards, has been great fun for them,” said Inglese.

St. Michael and All Angels, an Episcopal church school with a total enrollment of 215 students in preschool through eighth grade, won four rounds before coming up against a team from La Mesa Junior High in Canyon Country in the finals at the county courthouse.

Both schools were presented the same hypothetical case and required to prepare for both the prosecution and defense. Just days before the competition St. Michael learned that it would represent the prosecution.

Besides learning their individual roles for the trial, students conducted legal research and learned correct courtroom procedure. A panel of lawyers scored the competition and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Enrique Romero presided.

The mock trial competition is co-sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation and the state Board of Education to provide middle and high school students with a working knowledge of the judicial system.

“It was a tremendous amount of work for the students, but also very satisfying,” said Inglese. “I’m very happy that the city and county have taken the time to acknowledge these kids for what they’ve done.”