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Students get their day in court for mock trial

Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec / James Lowe, coach of Altoona’s Mock Trial Team 1, gives instructions to (from left) Natahlia Daversa, Geneva Flarend, Victoria Cox and Sarah Harmon before the start of the mock trial competition on Tuesday in Courtroom 4 of the Blair County Courthouse.

Mirror photo by Gary M. Baranec / James Lowe, coach of Altoona’s Mock Trial Team 1, gives instructions to (from left) Natahlia
Daversa, Geneva Flarend, Victoria Cox and Sarah Harmon before the start of the mock trial competition on Tuesday in Courtroom 4 of the Blair County Courthouse.

The Pennsylvania Mock Trial District Semifinal at the Blair County Courthouse Tuesday featured two teams from Altoona Area who argued their cases to the end, even raising objections after closing arguments.

The fictitious trial centered on a woman facing first-degree arson charges. The Altoona Area defense team for Tuesday’s trial won the case by a unanimous jury decision and will progress to the regional finals in Washington on Saturday.

The winning team’s attorneys were Victoria Cox, Natahlia Daversa and Geneva Flarend. Student witnesses from the team were Marissa Abbott, James Laich and Sarah Harmon.

The mock trial competition gives eight-member student teams the opportunity to argue both sides of a case in an actual courtroom before a judge. Students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, are assisted by teacher coaches and attorney advisers in preparing for competition.

Volunteer lawyers and other community leaders serve as jurors. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules

This year’s hypothetical case, Commonwealth v. Taylor Edsel, is a criminal trial to determine whether the defendant is guilty of committing an act of arson that destroyed an advanced automotive plant.

Blair County Judge Jolene Kopriva said she was impressed by both teams’ command of the case and thinking on their feet.

In mock trials, teams receive source material, but neither side knows what the other may use or not use during the course of the trial.

“Even if you don’t go to law school, understanding the law and principles that guide the justice system are helpful later in life,” Kopriva said.

Both teams from Altoona that competed on Tuesday were among the top four teams, along with Central High School’s A team and Central Cambria in District 3 of Region 3. Central High School’s team won the other Region 3 final.

The top two schools prevailing in the Region 3 finals will be among the 14 teams, of more than 300 teams statewide, to advance to the Mock Trial State Championships on March 24-25 in Harrisburg.

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