2006 Logos Regional Mock Trial Press Release

This past Saturday Logos School’s two Mock Trial teams competed at the North Idaho Regional at the Kootenai County Courthouse in Coeur d’Alene. Logos’s “A” (varsity) team earned first place, and the “B” team took second. Eight other teams represented Lewiston, Lake City, Coeur d’Alene and Coeur d’Alene Charter high schools. Logos’s performances earned both teams a berth to the State competition in Boise on March 14 and 15. They will compete among twelve teams to vie for the state title.

Mock Trial is organized and sponsored by the Idaho Law Foundation, the educational arm of the State Bar Association. The ILF publishes a detailed scenario from which teams must prepare a case on both plaintiff and defense sides, which they present against other schools in actual courtrooms with real judges presiding. Students act as witnesses who must offer favorable testimony in keeping with an affidavit, and face cross-examination from the opposing team. Student-attorneys elicit testimony from witnesses and put on evidence according to the rules that govern Idaho courts. They must align a complex (and often convoluted) array of facts to applicable state laws and develop clear arguments to a jury of judges who score them. Successful teams must think critically, react quickly, and speak persuasively.

In this year’s case, plaintiff Jamie Franklyn seeks damages from Pat Cartwright for the injuries she sustained at a fire in his barn. The case is complicated by the fact that Jamie was in the barn along with forty other minors who were illegally gambling and drinking. Whether Cartwright was aware of their activity is a point of contention, as is how the law describes the level of Cartwright’s responsibility.

Judges at Saturday’s competition recognized six outstanding witnesses at the competition, four of whom were Logos team members: from the A team—Justin Spencer, Vicky Trochez, and J. T. Grauke; and Zeb Struble from the B team. Three of the eight outstanding attorneys recognized at the competition were from Logos: Cecilia Hui and Heather Hagen for the A team, and Maggie Church for the B team. Outstanding performances were also offered by Danny Ryan, Samuel Dickison, Laurel McGarry, Brian Kohl, Elliot Dickison, Christian Leithart, Tim Schultz, Emily Gray, Chantelle Courtney, and Ben Saunders. The Logos teams are coached by teachers Chris Schlect and Jim Nance together with local attorney Greg Dickison.

Both teams won all three of their rounds. The B team won one unanimous decision and two split decisions, and all three of the A-team’s rounds were unanimous victories. In the second round, every judge awarded Justin Spencer perfect “10s” for his witness portrayal of the defendant. In the third round, every judge awarded Heather Hagen perfect “10’s” for her cross-examination of the defendant. Unanimous perfect scores are extremely rare in Mock Trial.

Logos School is Idaho’s winningest Mock Trial program. In their eleven years of competing they have won seven state championships in all, and this year they return to Boise to defend back-to-back titles. Last year Logos’s two teams eliminated all other schools and faced off against one another for the championship in the Supreme Court. The A team went on to place eleventh at nationals, the strongest finish of any Idaho team at that level.