Yale High School mock trial team will battle Saturday in state finals

Thetimesherald.com

The eighth annual St. Clair County Bar Association Mock Trial Tournament was conducted, as always, the last Saturday of February. Thirteen teams from nine St. Clair County high schools competed. One hundred and twenty-three students practiced from November until game day.

Every student demonstrated a good, basic knowledge of courtroom procedure, a well-developed theme of the case and presentation of that theme by the entire team and, more importantly, competition in a respectful, professional setting where preparation, ethics and depth of character are every bit as important as the mental gymnastics plied in each courtroom duel.

Every year, Capac High School teacher/coach Steve Sampson has his teams well-prepared for courtroom battle, and this year was no exception. Capac entered four teams who finished second, third, fourth and fifth in the St. Clair County competition.

For the second straight year, Capac won the Honorable John G. Cummings Professionalism Award. Coach Sampson and the entire Lozen Law Firm (Coaches Tim Lozen, Ana Kovar, Matt Lozen and Katie Haemelinck) are to be congratulated for another outstanding year of competition.

The 2013 first-place winner in the St. Clair County competition is Yale High School. Teacher Scott Brown is in his sixth year coaching Yale’s Mock Trial Team; he partners with lawyer Brandon McNamee who is in his fourth year coaching Yale.

These two coaches very obviously worked hard to give their students every opportunity to demonstrate their brainpower and abilities. Neither coach is paid. Both poured countless hours and energy into coaching and teaching these students.

Congratulations to Coaches Brown and McNamee, the awesome students who make up the Yale team, and Superintendent Ken Nicholl for the foresight and determination to offer the program to Yale High School students (and especially for tapping Coach Brown for duties some six years ago!)

At the regional competition, students from Anchor Bay, Port Huron and Port Huron Northern, Capac and Memphis competed March 3 at Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor or March 10 at Pontiac.

All mock trial competitors learn critical thinking skills, analyze factual scenarios from both plaintiff and defense perspective, advocate fairly and honestly for their respective positions and properly address the judge, the jury, and their opposition.

Yale High School excelled at the state Regional Mock Trial Competition. Yale is one of only 10 teams in the entire state advancing to the finals Saturday in Lansing. Yale will be competing against huge schools: Ann Arbor, Clarkston, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti, Forest Hills Northern, U of D Jesuit and St. Mary Catholic.

Coach Brown, Coach McNamee, and Yale team members Kyle Alderson, Danielle Mackey, Bobby Felster, Lauren Piatek, Drew Morgan, Courtney Salisbury and Natalie Currie, you have earned our respect and admiration; we are honored to have you represent St. Clair County. Go, Bulldogs!

By: POINT OF VIEW Cynthia S.

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