March 8, 2022 – An imaginary case involving whether smart camera footage can be used in a murder trial has drawn hundreds of local high school students into the 16^th Annual San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition.

Mock Trial is a program that gives students hands-on experience in learning about the law and the Constitution. This year’s pretrial issue involves the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Students argue the question of whether a smart camera provided by law enforcement and used on the defendant’s property constituted a search, whether or not that required a search warrant, and accordingly whether or not the evidence should be allowed at the trial.

More than 600 San Diego County high school students are participating in the event, which returns to in-person competition this year. Students from 30 San Diego County high schools have fielded 32 teams during the competition. The first four rounds of trials were held over the past two weeks. The Mock Trial awards ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, and the championship round will be held on Thursday, March 10. The local winner will advance to and represent San Diego County in the Statewide Mock Trial Competition next month.

The Mock Trial competition places high school students in realistic courtroom settings before actual state and federal judges. In those courtrooms, the students assume the roles of lawyers, witnesses, clerks, and bailiffs facing off on a hypothetical case.

“These remarkable students have practiced over the past several months under the guidance of dedicated attorney coaches and teachers to prepare for the competition, while the judges and attorney scorers have the honor of witnessing their hard work pay off during the trials,” said Judge Michael Smyth, Presiding Judge of the San Diego Superior Court. “The bright future of the legal profession is proudly on display in every courtroom at the San Diego County High School Mock Trial Competition.”

The annual Mock Trial Competition is a premier civic education and legal event. State and federal judges volunteer their time during the trials and attorneys from different practice areas throughout the County spend many hours coaching the high school students and/or serving as

scorers during the competition.

The annual event is hosted at the San Diego Superior Court’s Central Courthouse and is run by the Mock Trial Committee which includes representatives from the San Diego Superior Court, the San Diego County Bar Association, U.S. District Court Southern District of California, San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego City Attorney’s Office, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, San Diego County Public Defender’s Office, Federal Defenders, Inc., U.S. Attorney’s Office, and San Diego Paralegal Association.

UPCOMING MOCK TRIAL EVENTS:

• Awards Ceremony – Tuesday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. (virtual)
  • All students, teachers and coaches; awards for best individual performances and announcement of championship round teams
• Championship Round – Thursday, March 10, 5:30 p.m.
  • Top two teams; winner will go to the statewide Mock Trial competition

The awards ceremony and championship round will be live-streamed via links posted to sdmocktrial.org. School teachers and students wishing to learn more about the program may request more information by emailing [email protected].

For more information on the San Diego Superior Court, please visit sdcourt.ca.gov.