On Friday, November 15th the Torrey Mock Trial team went to Santa Barbara for the first mock trial competition of the school year. The event took place in the beautiful and historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse, where the Varsity prosecution and defense teams each competed in two lengthy trials involving the kidnapping of a political candidate.
The fictional case is about how Taylor Alexander, a person running for city council, was kidnapped by Logan Gold, a person whose spouse was running against Taylor Alexander. There was a debate at 12:00, Logan Gold showed up late while the other participant, Taylor Alexander, never arrived. In the case, Alexander claims she was blindfolded with a pillowcase and then brought to her own rental property, where she was tied up and forced to drink a medicine that would make her pass out. Alexander claims that Logan Gold kidnapped her because Gold’s family inn is at risk of going out of business because of Taylor Alexander’s rental properties. The defense’s argument is that the evidence used by the prosecution does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Gold kidnapped Alexander.
The Torreys’ formidable opponent was Dos Pueblos High School, a Santa Barbara public high school known for having one of the best mock trial teams in California. Special thanks to La Jolla Country Day team members: Asha Patel, the varsity clerk, Elle Acuna’s pre-trial motion, and Anna Holland’s defense closing argument. Many people from the JV team came to observe and learn about trials. Although the competition was a “scrimmage” and no winners were declared, it was a great learning experience for all.
The weekend included some essential team-bonding experiences as well. The team went to a shopping center Friday night where they participated in a Simon tournament and ate dinner. After the trials, we went to a community center to join the other team in a celebration. There we spilled hot chocolate, made friends with kids from the other school, and competed in a soccer match. On Sunday we had a leisurely breakfast at our hotel and then headed home. After one final stop at a shopping center for pizza and amazing boba, we arrived home. The trip was a resounding success!
