West Jefferson Mock Trial “Golden Girls” Advance to Regional Competition

The team at the University of Cincinnati High School Mock Trial Invitational on January 5, 2019 after receiving two “Outstanding Attorney” awards and one “Outstanding Witness” award. First row (left to right): Loraine Stone, Alaina Hitzeman, Lily Hill, Julianna Brunicardi, and Sydney Lohr Second row: Jennifer Siddiqi (advisor), Jillian Flowers, Marla Farbacher (advisor)

Alaina H.

Last Friday, the West Jefferson High School Mock Trial team competed in the OCLRE District Competition at the Franklin County Courthouse. With over 30 teams in attendance, the all-female team was one of the few teams who will go on to compete at the Regional Competition on February 15th.

In order to advance, the West Jefferson “Golden Girls” had to win both hearings. This means that both sides of the team (defense and prosecution) outperformed their competition in each lengthy match.

In the first trial, the team faced off against the Columbus School for Girls team “Brontosaurus.” After the match, both teams said it was too close to call. However, it was later learned that West Jefferson came out on top, after the presiding judge broke a tie. In trial two, the Golden Girls secured a win against one of Whetstone High School’s many teams, earning a perfect (10) team score from both scoring judges.

Along with their two victories, the team came away with four “outstanding” awards. Alaina Hitzeman, a prosecution attorney, and Julianna Brunicardi, on the defense, both received “Best Attorney” awards. Loraine Stone, who is a witness on both sides, left with a “Best Witness” award, along with Alaina Hitzeman, who plays an expert in drone technology on the defense. The team received all of the four awards available in their two trials.

Lily Hill, a senior at West Jefferson High School and first-time mocker, said that she is very grateful for her advisors, Jennifer Siddiqi and Marla Farbacher, and all of the hard work that they put into the program. Hill expressed that Mock Trial has been a “great experience” so far. All members of the team agreed. As a member of the team myself, I would urge anyone interested in Mock Trial to try it out.

The team will go on to compete at the regional competition on February 15th. For more information on OCLRE High School Mock Trial, visit http://www.oclre.org/aws/OCLRE/pt/sp/mocktrial_highschool.