News

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Dos Pueblos High School’s Mock Trial Team Earns a Spot in Mock Trial World Championship Invitational

The Dos Pueblos High School Mock Trial team has been selected for an international mock trial tournament, organized by the Empire Mock Trial Association (EMTA). For the past several years, EMTA’s Empire City Invitational has provided a unique educational and competitive opportunity for schools from several countries and states.

The 2012 Empire City Invitational takes place October 25-28, 2012 at the Kings County Supreme Court, Civil Division, in downtown Brooklyn.

Dos Pueblos teacher and team faculty advisor Bill Woodard said, “The tournament is considered the nation’s most prestigious high school mock trial tournament, bringing together the top 36 teams from across the country and around the globe—including teams from the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea, Canada, and Australia.”

He continued, “Teams are invited to apply only if they have finished at the top of their state tournament and are selected only after an extensive application process that takes into consideration the team’s competitive history as well as factors such as sportsmanship, ethics, tradition, and motivation.”

Dos Pueblos Mock Trial is the only school in California to finish in the top ten at state over the last three years. Last year’s team advanced to the state final, losing a close match against La Reina High School from Ventura County (La Reina has also been selected for this year’s Empire City Invitational). The Dos Pueblos team’s faculty advisor, Bill Woodard was also selected as the 2012 Constitutional Rights Foundation “Adult Advocate of the Year” for his work with the Dos Pueblos program.

The Dos Pueblos team members will now spend their summer and fall preparing a new case and learning the college mock trial rules, which are used in the Empire City Invitational. Team members are Hannah Cruz, Alison Mally, Nimisha Shinday, Delia Bullock, Madeleine Centrella, Bela Lafferty, Madeline Matthys, Camille Wyss, Sophia Zheng, Sean Strong, and Ami Thakrar. Dos Pueblos Mock Trial’s coaching staff is comprised of Maureen Grattan, Joel Block, Scott Campbell, Jeff Campbell, and Bill Woodard

Jeff Campbell, Dos Pueblos Mock Trial alum and current member of the college mock trial national championship Duke University team, is volunteering this summer to help the team prepare.

The team is gearing up for a fundraising campaign to raise the necessary funds to travel to New York City for the tournament. Tax-deductible donations can be made to Dos Pueblos High School Mock Trial program. Contact teacher advisor Bill Woodard for more information:bwoodard@dphs.org