For the second consecutive year, the Cazenovia High School Mock Trial Team faced off against Fayetteville-Manlius in the final round of the Onondaga County 2018 Mock Trial Championship but, unlike last year when the Lakers prevailed, this year it was F-M’s turn to take the title.
Cazenovia and F-M appeared before United States Magistrate Judge David E. Peebles on Thursday, April 12, in the James M. Hanley Federal Building to mete out which area high school attorneys triumphed over the fictitious school bullying case of The People v. Carson Conners.
Of a field of 15 area high school teams, competing over the course of the six-week program, the F-M Hornets prevailed as it alternated from defense to prosecution at each weekly trial at host venue Nottingham High School. At the April 12 competition, Cazenovia was the prosecution while that vied against F-M as the defense counsel for the title of Onondaga County Mock Trial 2018 Champion.
Cazenovia High School was the 2017 Onondaga County Champion. F-M took home the state title in 2016.
The High School Mock Trial program offers students firsthand knowledge of civil/criminal law and courtroom procedures as they collaborate and strategize both defense and prosecution counsel for a fictitious case wherein plaintiffs, defendants, witnesses and experts boast gender-neutral names allowing for broad participation. Educational objectives are met when students examine rules of law, legal theory, ethics, civility and professionalism as well as gain a keen understanding of basic life skills such as listening, speaking, reading and reasoning.
The Lakers team consisted of Zane Anthony, Nick Barna, Shea Flannery, Madeline Gavitt, Glenn Hartley, Will Huftalen, Eric Liddell, Robbie Liddell, Claire Murray, BrierMae Ossant, Eva Salzman, Megan Schwartz, Jared Smith, Emma Wardell and Mackenzie Yates.
The Cazenovia team advisor is Elizabeth Koennecke, a Social Security Administration administrative judge.
With its county victory last week, the F-M team next travels to Binghamton where the regional tournament will take place at the U.S. District Courthouse in Binghamton on Saturday, April 21. The New York State High School Mock Trial final competition is set to occur Sunday, May 13 through Tuesday, May 15 in Albany.
Schools participating in the Onondaga County High School Mock Trial 2018 were: Cazenovia, Chittenango, Christian Brothers Academy, Cortland, East Syracuse Minoa, Fayetteville-Manlius, Jamesville-DeWitt, Jordan-Elbridge, Lafayette, Liverpool, Marcellus, Nottingham, Tully, West Genesee and Westhill.
