City Council Honors Mock Trial and Moot Court Winners

Four California High School students were recognized at the City Council meeting Tuesday for showing they may have what it takes to be the next leaders in the court system.

Mayor Abram Wilson gave certificates to freshman Karishma Pareek, for placing first in Contra Costa County's Moot Court competition, and seniors Cady DeLano and Lana Zholudeva, for placing third in the Mock Trial competition. A fourth student, Alyssa Briggs, did not attend the meeting.

In the Moot Court competition last October, Karishma and Alyssa emerged as the best of 24 teams to argue adapted U.S. Supreme Court cases at the Contra Costa County Courthouse. Teams presented oral arguments before three-judge courts made up of attorneys and judges.

The Mock Trial competition, in March, required teams to prepare criminal cases from both the prosecution and defense perspectives. Team members acted as trial attorneys, pretrial motion attorneys, witnesses, clerks and bailiffs. Cady and Lana earned the second straight third-place title for Cal High.

Students in the competitions acquire more than just speech skills, said Lana, 18, a Mock Trial team captain.

"Being in a real courtroom where real judges preside and score you and give you feedback and talk to you, recognize you are part of the community, is one of the most important things," she said, adding that she is considering a career as an attorney.
 
Karishma, 15, said the year of preparation provided valuable skills that were not taught in the classroom.

"It was not just team bonding but one of the best experiences you can get outside of school for entering such a field," she said.

Teachers and coaches were integral in the students' success, said Cady, 18, another Mock Trial team captain.

"It's probably going to be the class I miss the most next year when I go off to college," she said.

Teacher Coach Brian Barr commended the students for studying a single case for six months amid their busy schedules.

"It really is important to them and they do their best representing the school," he said.

The program has grown each year, with 40 students trying out for next year's team, said Ellen Rosenbluth, the team's attorney coach.

"That's incredible and I know that is because these folks have conveyed to their fellow students what a wonderful program that is," she said.

Wilson thanked teachers and coaches for preserving the opportunity for students in light of cutbacks in education.

"This is why we do this, to be able to articulate," he said, "to have those life skills that you will be able to take all through your life."