By DENISE MOE
The Hamilton County Bar Association (HCBA) has announced the winners of the 22nd annual Mock Trial Competition for local high school students held over the last two months.
The program is coordinated by Attorney Stephenie Gookins, attorney at Terry & Gookins, LLC. This program gives high school students the opportunity to get firsthand experience in a courtroom learning how to present a case before a judge.
Students from Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers, Noblesville, Sheridan, Carmel and Guerin Catholic fielded teams for this competition. Teams are led by a teacher from each school and local attorneys who volunteer to serve as advisors to each team.
The fictitious case presented this year was Jordan Patel v. Cameron Miller, a civil case in which the Plaintiff was attempting to recover damages for injuries sustained at a party. Teams prepared questions and argument for both the Plaintiff and Defense in the case and alternated their presentations during the five preliminary weeks of competition. The teams were seeded based on their win/loss records and competed in a single elimination tournament.
The competition was held at the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center. Local attorneys and judges serve as judges for the many rounds of competition.
Guerin Catholic’s “Let Mock & Roll” team was the champion. This was the first championship for Guerin Catholic. They defeated Carmel’s “Air Buds!” team in a competitive and closely scored round. The final round of competition was judged by Judge Michael Casati, Judge Richard Campbell, and Judge William Hughes.
Attorney Stephenie Gookins and Guerin Catholic Senior Payton Smoot with her $500 scholarship. (Photo provided)
Guerin Catholic Senior Payton Smoot was awarded the $500 HCBA Mock Trial Scholarship for her hard work and dedication to mock trial throughout her high school career. Several other awards were presented to participants:
- Best “Jordan Patel” Witness – Brianna Talty (1st place) and Emily Everett (Runner up)
- Best “Bobbi Brennan” Witness – Koen Westermeier (1st place) and Sam Gomez (Runner up)
- Best “Alex Diaz” Witness – Alex Yu (1st place) and Avinash Valuveri (Runner up)
- Best “Cameron Miller” Witness – Maureen Johns (1st place) and Melanie Herzog (Runner up)
- Best “Morgan Deluca” Witness – Anna Ellery (1st place) and Marley Mack (Runner up)
- Best “Dr. Jo. Strickland” Witness – Hannah DeHondt (1st Place) and Nabeelah Aregbc (Runner up)
- Plaintiff’s Best Attorney – Abigail Field (1st place) and Malak Samara (Runner up)
- Defendant’s Best Attorney – Suhita Chintalacharuvu (1st Place) and Amy Mohamed (Runner up)