The Fayetteville-Manlius High School Mock Trial 2018 team is once again the county champion after defeating the Cazenovia Lakers in the final round of competition last week.

F-M and Cazenovia 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, F-M was the defense counsel that vied against the Cazenovia Lakers prosecution 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 F-M legal Hornets were assisted by F-M Social Studies teacher Joseph Worm and legal advisor Danielle M. Fogel, a partner at the Sugarman Law Firm.

The 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.

The NYS Mock Trial program is co-sponsored by the New York State Bar Foundation and New York State Bar Association.

The Onondaga County Bar Association wishes to congratulate the following F-M student lawyers: Alexis Ahn, Briana Amador, Nicholas Bissell, Avery Bower, Cecilia Byer, Patrice Calancie, Maria Costello, Matthew Crovella, Jayden Davis, David Haungs, Lauren Koss, Emily Ledyard, Michelle Lim, Rachel Liu, Grant Olick-Sutphen, Joshua Ovadia, Michael Reikes, Helena Schmidt, and Katherine Yang.

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.