La Jolla Country Day School’s Mock Trial team topped 41 other San Diego County high school teams to win the annual legal competition. The San Diego County Mock Trial program provides high school students with the opportunity to experience the legal field in courtrooms rather than classrooms. The student teams take on the roles of lawyers and witnesses facing off on a hypothetical case in front of actual state and federal judges.

La Jolla Country Day School will now represent San Diego County in the statewide Mock Trial competition to be held March 14-16 in Los Angeles. 

The championship round was presided over by Hon. Joan Weber of the San Diego Superior Court and the scoring panel included Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden, San Diego City Attorney Heather Ferbert, San Diego County Public Defender Paul Rodriguez, San Diego County Chief Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior, and San Diego County Bar Association President Michelle Gastil. 

The annual event is hosted at the San Diego Superior Court’s Central Courthouse and is organized by the San Diego County High School 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. Each year’s trial topic and contents are outlined by Teach Democracy, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society. 

Hundreds of attorneys and judges were called on to support the competition. A total of 197 San Diego County attorneys served as scorers for the competition and another 124 attorneys volunteered their time to be coaches for the competing teams. Sixty-five judges presided over trials throughout the competition and an additional 69 individuals volunteered their time to serve as courtroom monitors.

For additional information on the San Diego County Mock Trial competition, please visit sdmocktrial.org.