News Release
March 9, 2006
John F. Kennedy High School Mock Trial Team Finishes Fourth In State Tournament
The John F. Kennedy High School Mock Trial team finished fourth in the state tournament held this past weekend (March 3 and 4) out of 22 teams.
The team moved up from 12th place in 2005 and 18th place in 2004. The winner of the state tournament was Saint Mary's Academy; second place was Regis High School and third place was Kent Denver.
The JFK team was led by JFK social studies teacher Susan Troeger, who served as the team sponsor and coach. Team members included seniors Joe Rubino, Alfredo Rodriquez, Marcus Rahimpour, Alma Suarez, Manuel Nunez and juniors Lydia Cordova, Nguyen Nguyen, Lauren Mucilli and Andy McCormick.
The mock court case this year dealt with an incident at a high school state championship basketball game. A player is charged with reckless endangerment and battery for a collision that results in another player having his/her spine fractured.
Mock Trial teams are made up of six lawyers and six witnesses. The teams must prepare both sides of the case, plaintiff and defendant. In any given round of the competition the teams do not know which side they will be performing until about 20 minutes before the trial. Three lawyers and three witnesses perform per school, per round. There are four rounds at the regional and state tournaments over two days.
At the state tournament, the top two teams are announced and they compete in a fifth round to determine the state champion, who goes to the national tournament in Oklahoma City in May.
John F. Kennedy High School has been competing in Mock Trial for seven years. The last three years JFK won the Denver Regional Tournament and has competed at state. This year was the school's best showing at the state tournament. The event is sponsored by the Denver Bar Association.
For more information, contact John F. Kennedy High School at 720-423-4300. The school is located at 2855 S. Lamar St.