Mock Trial “Golden Girls” advance to state competition

By: Alaina H.

On February 15, the West Jefferson Mock Trial “Golden Girls” made a trip to the Franklin County Courthouse to compete in the OCLRE High School Mock Trial Regional Competition. The Golden Girls were one of the four teams in Franklin County to advance to the State Competition.

This year's Ohio mock trial case focuses on a motion to suppress evidence based on a Fourth Amendment privacy violation claim. Quinn Woolf, an Ohio high school student, is charged with stealing $120 million from the State of Buckeye pension fund. Woolf’s defense must argue that the evidence used against him/her was illegally obtained through intimate drone surveillance footage that was collected by a state actor during a land survey of the neighboring field. The prosecution must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the footage was not in violation of the Fourth Amendment, as it was taken by a private entity, not the city.

The testimony of witnesses on both sides focus primarily on drone technology, FAA regulations, legal contract negotiations, and privacy. There are three witnesses on each side, but each team must choose only two to testify. On the prosecution, you have Eli Moss (portrayed by Loraine Stone), the CEO of Omniscient Technologies, the one who flew the drone and collected the footage; Campbell Bolt (portrayed by Lily Hill), the contract negotiator for the City of Harmony; and Jordan Miller, a detective in the City of Harmony. On the defense you may hear from Quinn Woolf (portrayed by Loraine Stone), the defendant; Dr. Parker Monroe (portrayed by Alaina Hitzeman), an expert in drone technology; and Dylan Ulrich, and ex-employee of Omniscient Technologies.

In the first match of the day at Regionals, the West Jefferson “Golden Girls” Prosecution battled against Columbus School for Girls “Velociraptor” Defense. This was a bit of a rivalry match; both teams fought hard, resulting in an exciting trial. Ultimately, the Golden Girls secured a well deserved win. Jillian Flowers received a “Best Attorney” award, and Alaina Hitzeman snagged “Best Witness.”

In match two, the “Golden Girls” Prosecution went head to head with Granville High School Defense. This was a rocky match, but the Golden Girls powered through and came away with a victory. Alaina Hitzeman was awarded “Best Attorney,” and Granville’s Dylan Ulrich received the “Best Witness” award.

At the end of the long day, the Golden Girls gathered with the other ambitious teams as the state-qualifying teams were announced. The Golden Girls finally took a breath when the announcer said, “This last team is from the wild, wild west... Their school is named after someone who signed the Declaration of Independence…it’s the Golden Girls!”

The small, all-female team will compete along with some of Ohio’s best mock trial teams on March 7 at the statewide competition in Franklin County, where only 29 of the over 300 Ohio mock trial teams will fight for the title of “State Champion.” For the full state competition schedule, visit http://www.oclre.org/aws/OCLRE/pt/sp/mocktrial_highschool.