It was a joyous scene in the Watsonville courthouse for a team of Scotts Valley High School students who came out on top in the annual mock trial competition.
After three days of competition among seven county high schools, Scotts Valley High defeated mock trial powerhouse Santa Cruz High School by one point in the final case in front of Judge Jeff Almquist.
In the trial, Scotts Valley acted as the prosecution in the case “People v. Woodson,” a case of an 18-year-old charged with assault with a deadly weapon and cyber-bullying.
Team members took the roles of prosecuting attorneys and witnesses, asking questions and responding to the judge’s questioning and objections from the other team.
Philomena Block, a senior at Scotts Valley who testified as the 13-year-old victim in the case, has enjoyed her two years participating in mock trial.
“You really learn a lot about the legal system,” Block said. “Our team, they really worked so hard. Santa Cruz has won every other year, so I’m really impressed that we won.”
This is the second time in school history Scotts Valley has advanced to the state level in mock trial. The team will travel to Riverside for the state competition March 25 through 27.
At Scotts Valley High, mock trial is a club team advised by government and economics teacher Jon Tiffany, with coaching from Ellen Campos, a prosecutor from Santa Cruz. There are 22 students in the club.
“I’m super lucky to have a number of students back from last year,” Tiffany said. “And Ellen coming on as attorney coach has been so crucial.”
The team’s goal was to win the competition after taking second last year, Tiffany said.
“These are very dedicated, smart, hardworking kids who like it,” he said.
