Battle In The Courtroom

It wasn't your typical high school final exam.

Students from Northgate High in Walnut Creek and California High in San Ramon faced off Tuesday night in a Martinez courtroom in the finals of the 2011 Contra Costa County Mock Trial competition.

California Court of Appeal Justice Mark Simons presided over the trial that focused on a hypothetical assault case that included a new anti-bullying law.

A half-dozen attorneys and law students sat in the jury box to judge the legal contest.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony Thursday night at the Contra Costa Office of Education, the agency that sponsored the competition.

The champion will travel to Riverside in late March for the state competition.

Northgate and Cal outlasted 11 other high school teams through four weeks of competition.

Each squad had a defense and prosecution team.

On Tuesday, Northgate's prosecution team battled Cal's defense team.

The first 20 minutes of the 90-minute showdown dealt with a pre-trial motion by Cal High, asking the judge to rule that the anti-bullying statute was unconstitutional because it was a violation of the First Amendment.

The Northgate High team argued that the First Amendment only protects certain types of free speech and bullying comments do not fall under the provision.

Simons decided in Cal High's favor, ruling the law unconstitutional and dismissing one of the charges against the mythical defendant.

The rest of the trial consisted of testimony and the presentation of other evidence.

The two schools' students played the roles of attorneys, witnesses, bailiffs and courtroom staff.

Cal High senior Steven Lau was the team's lead defense attorney. He arrived less than an hour before the trial began because he'd been in Los Angeles, interviewing for admittance to USC's journalism department.

Lau said he felt his team was excited and well prepared.

"We're all ready to go," he said.

Karishma Pareek, a Cal High sophomore, was the team's successful pre-trial attorney. She joined the squad because she wanted to gain experience in speech and debate.

"This is the best experience you can get," she said.

This was the first time since the late 1990s that Cal High's mock trial team participated in the finals.

Their coach, Brian Barr, said his team had worked hard and learned a lot.

"I'm very proud of them and I think they're proud of themselves, too," he said.

Northgate High was in the finals four years ago.

The team's coach, Jonathan Burchett, was an attorney before switching to teaching. He said he was impressed with how talented his students are.

"These are some highly motivated and high achieving kids," said Burchett.

Michael Endick, a senior, was the team's lead prosecutor. He noted that this was the fourth time in this competition that his prosecution squad argued the case.

He said the competition has been a great experience for everyone.

"We've learned a lot about the law as well as what happens in a courtroom."