For the second year in a row, the Community High School Mock Trial team has driven home from the Lansing Courthouse with “We Are the Champions” blasting on the car stereo. On March 26, 2011 the CHS Mock Trial A Team won the state championship of the Michigan Mock Trial Tournament. The team left CHS after school on Friday, March 25 for the tournament and returned on Saturday night after defending their championship title in four exhausting trials.
The team won trials against Forest Hills Eastern and Capac High School in the morning round. After lunch, the tournament’s organizer Jim Troost announced the four teams moving onto the semifinal round. CHS was the last team to be announced, creating an atmosphere thick with anticipation. The team conducted a trial against University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in the third round. CHS proved victorious and moved on to the final round while University of Detroit Jesuit placed third in the state, the highest the team has placed. Competing CHS team members are Eli Sugermen, Tressa Stapleton, Max Lewis, Michelle Grifka, Elise Wander, Garrett Wood, Shadi Ahmadmehrabi, Michael Savage, and Cooper DePriest. The team’s head coach is CHS teacher Cheryl Grace.
CHS met Kalamazoo Central High School in the final round for the second year in a row. Both teams displayed a clear understanding of trial proceedings and the case at hand. The plaintiff side of the CHS team met against Kalamazoo’s defense in the civil case of Anderson vs. Williams. The thrilling trial resulted in a split decision of the judges and a very narrow win for CHS. Judge Amy Ronayne Krause, who presided over the trial, was surprised to add up all of the points on her scoresheet and realize that each team had received the exact same number of points. The other judges in the trial served as jurors; the overall score has not been revealed yet.
The CHS Mock Trial Team will represent the state of Michigan in the National Mock Trial Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona in May. The team will have approximately one month to prepare a brand new case that will be released on April 1, 2011.
