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St. Vincent-St. Mary takes lead in five teams to advance to mock trial regionals
Magistrate-Judicial Attorney Jenna Bouhall, Magistrate John Casalinuovo (left) with Judge Lynne Callahan (front) and Judge Amy Corrigall Jones (back right) with the St. Vincent-St. Mary students they coached to place first the regional mock trial tournament Feb. 3. Legal News Photo by Ashley C.Heeney
ASHLEY C. HEENEY
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 9, 2012
The Summit County Court of Common Pleas was bustling last Friday with high school students from 11 different area schools for the Ohio Mock Trial Competition, sponsored locally by the Akron Bar Association.
For a fictional case from the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education relating to a real case in the justice system, students acted as lawyers and witnesses trying to discern whether a student’s rights were violated when police used a warrantless search of cell phone records to track his movements. He filed a motion to suppress claiming that the evidence seized was the result of an improper search and seizure that violated his Fourth Amendment rights.
Forty-five Summit County lawyers and sitting judges acted as judges for the tournament in which students prepared both prosecution and defense cases.
Five of the 15 teams that participated in one of the 30 district level competitions won both their morning and afternoon trials and will advance to the regional competition scheduled Feb. 24, also at the courthouse. State finals are March 8 through 10 in Columbus and the national finals are in May, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
St.Vincent-St.Mary High School was elated to learn at districts they placed first in their second year of having a team.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Lynne Callahan for the second year in a row teamed up with new coaches Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones, Summit County Probate Court Magistrate John Casalinuovo and Judge Callahan’s magistrate-judicial attorney Jenna Bouhall to coach St. Vincent St. Mary High School who won the competition with the highest points scored.
Archbishop Hoban High School came in second. An additional Hoban team, and teams from Manchester High School and Revere High School will also advance to the regional competition.
Callahan, who previously coached mock trial for five years at St. Hilary grade school in Fairlawn, said her high school team from her alma mater practices several times a week leading up to a tournament.
“I always tell the kids and parents, it’s not about being a lawyer, it’s about building self-confidence and improving public speaking. I did it at Akron Law and it helped me tremendously. It’s helpful for anything you want to do in life,” she said. Next year, her hope is to add a second team at St. V-M. “It’s a Catch-22. I need kids to win, but we need to win to get kids interested.”
Isabella Sparhawk said she competes for several reasons.
“I’m interested in law and this is a good opportunity to enhance your speaking and debate skills,” said the St. V-M junior.
“It’s exhilarating to get up there and argue your part,” added Ben Nelson, also a junior at St. V-M.
This year marks the 29th annual state competition, the largest high school academic competition and the second largest high school mock trial program in the nation, said Summit County Common Pleas Judge Alison McCarty, who has served as district mock trial coordinator for more than a decade and chairs the Akron Bar Association’s mock trial committee.
Akron’s 15 teams represented students among the 3,500 from 350 teams and 150 schools around the state, she said.
“It’s one of the things that I do that brings me great joy,” said McCarty at the awards ceremony. “I know some students who are now going through law school.
"It's a fantastic experience for the students, and also for the lawyers who participate as judges," said McCarty. "Everyone really enjoys seeing these kids get excited about the law."