Jesse Woodson is a punk. The imaginary character was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and, in a sign of the times, cyber-bullying too. And if the case was imaginary, the passion with which it was tackled by local students from Scotts Valley was not. They won the mock trial competition for the entire county, beating out students from Santa Cruz, Aptos, Soquel, Watsonville, Harbor and St. Francis high schools. And with imaginary Woodson behind imaginary bars, the students can continue on to the state mock trial finals in Riverside in March, the Supreme Court of California mock trials.
Jesse Woodson is a punk. The imaginary character was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and, in a sign of the times, cyber-bullying too. And if the case was imaginary, the passion with which it was tackled by local students from Scotts Valley was not. They won the mock trial competition for the entire county, beating out students from Santa Cruz, Aptos, Soquel, Watsonville, Harbor and St. Francis high schools. And with imaginary Woodson behind imaginary bars, the students can continue on to the state mock trial finals in Riverside in March, the Supreme Court of California mock trials.
The trials didn’t just focus on the law. They also helped students gain a better understanding of all aspects of the criminal justice system. A Watsonville student was named Best Court Journalist, and a Santa Cruz High student was named best courtroom artist.
Santa Cruz Superior Court Judges Tim Volkmann and Paul Marigonda presided over the trials, together with attorneys Austin Comstock and Art Dudley. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
