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50 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, April 23, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 29, 2004 Portraying the role of a police officer on the stand in a mock murder trial Saturday, Anna Gaumond, 16, of St. Mary�s School discusses an exhibit. At left, acting as a prosecutor is Eleanor Hilton, 16, also of St. Mary�s. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven And the verdict is ... Oregon High School Mock Trial competition is held at Medford Justice Building By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune If Beck Martin did indeed kill fellow classmate Anne Marcus, she gave no hints in the courtroom Saturday. Beck was nearly in tears on the stand. "I liked the part when I got choked up," said ShaLane Wilson, 16, who played Beck Martin during a mock-murder trial. "I love acting." ShaLane, a St. Mary’s 11th-grader, was one of 55 students from North Medford High School, Ashland High School and St. Mary’s School who acted as attorneys, witnesses and court officials in the 18th annual Oregon High School Mock Trial Competition held Saturday at the Justice Building in Medford. Sponsored by the Oregon State Bar and Classroom Law Project, the competition teaches students about the court system, while helping them hone critical thinking and public speaking skills. "The purpose is to learn how a trial works," said Circuit Court Judge Patricia Crain, one of the volunteer organizers of the event. Advertisement Crain said there are competition judges in each courtroom, most of whom are attorneys also volunteering their time. They critique the teams’ persuasive abilities, the kinds of questions the mock-attorneys ask, what points they stress and what they’re able to draw out of the witnesses. Although students are given the fictitious case, they’re not given much of a script, according to Kacey Dewing, mock trial coach for the two St. Mary’s teams. Dewing is a social studies teacher and debate coach who brought mock trials to St. Mary’s last year. She said the team receives sworn affidavits, and that’s what they work from. "It’s limited to the testimonies of the witnesses," she said. But witnesses had differing testimonies and coroners drew different conclusions, so there really is room for the trials to go either way. During the feedback portion of one of the rounds, the panel of judges complimented the teams on knowing the material. Criminal defense attorney Michael Kellerman did offer some advice for one of the mock defense attorneys. He said during closing arguments, the defense attorney was making the point that a guilty verdict would only be appropriate if it were beyond a reasonable doubt. "Your last words were: ‘We’d rather see a guilty person go free,’ " he said. It would be better to find a different phrase, he advised, and the students broke character for a brief chuckle. "It’s definitely entertaining," said Matthew Leonard, who played one of the prosecuting attorneys. A 16-year-old 11th-grader at St. Mary’s, Matthew was complimented by the judges for giving persuasive closing arguments as prosecutor, and for thinking to ask the judge for rebuttal time following the defense’s closing arguments. The top team from Saturday’s rounds will compete for the state championship on March 12 and 13 in Portland. The winning state team will compete in Orlando, Fla., in May at the National Mock Trial Championship. Reach reporter Meg Landersat 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times