Spotlight on San Marino High School’s Mock Trial Team

8 min readMay 2, 2022

Over thirty years of successful competition

San Marino High School is a relatively small yet high-achieving California 9th-12th grade public school located three thousand miles due west of the United States Supreme Court, five hundred miles southeast of the California State Supreme Court, twenty miles northeast of the USC Gould School of Law, twelve miles northeast of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, and five miles northeast of the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The school has competed in the annual Los Angeles County Mock Trial Competition for more than thirty years.

For the competition, student teams study a hypothetical case, conduct legal research, and receive guidance from volunteer attorneys in courtroom procedures and trial preparation.

The trial itself is a simulation of a criminal case, in which students portray lawyers, witnesses, court clerks, and bailiffs, thus acquiring a working knowledge of our judicial system while developing their analytical abilities and communication skills.

Students also act in the role of courtroom artist and newspaper journalist, with students taking on either of these roles to describe what took place at the trial.

Mayor’s Daughter Convicted of Felony Hit-and-Run
Following a tense trial Saturday at the Stanley Mosk, Los Angeles County Courthouse, Hidden Valley teenager Adrian Vega was convicted of a felony hit-and-run committed last April.
Vega, a former student of Hidden Valley High School and rising swim star, is the daughter of Hidden Valley mayor, Angelica Vega. Mayor Vega is an avid supporter of FADD, Families Against Distracted Driving.
Cameron Douglas, the victim of the hit-and-run accident, was a zealous biker, owner of a bike shop, and leader of Hidden Valley’s biking club at the time of the accident. Toni De Luca, a key prosecution witness, was a foreign exchange student living with the Vegas last April.
On the night of April 19, Vega and De Luca began driving home from a championshipqualifying swim meet. Shortly after, Douglas was hit by a car speeding recklessly through an intersection. Douglas testified that she suffered a mild concussion, a cracked collarbone, a shattered right knee, and several abrasions. Douglas and two eyewitnesses told the court that they recognized the car as one Vega usually drives.
According to the prosecution, Vega drove De Luca home that night. Due to a win at the meet, the swim star was texting while driving. This oversight caused her to hit Douglas and keep driving in a blatant disregard for “human life and limb.” Upon the prosecution calling De Luca to the stand, Vega frowned, appearing to see this testimony as the ultimate betrayal.
Prosecutor Daniella Dichter pushed forth her point in a passionate closing argument, claiming: “The defendant’s actions that night were consistent with a person who has just committed a crime and had a guilty mind.”
The defense, trying to cast doubt on the prosecution theory, argued that De Luca could have been the driver during the collision. Upon calling Vega to the stand, the defendant sadly recounted her story, claiming that, had she been driving, “It wouldn’t have even been a second thought. [She] would’ve stopped and helped [Douglas].”
Defense attorney Parker Stewart, putting his hand on the back of the defendant’s chair, pleaded with the court, “Don’t compound this tragedy by convicting the wrong person.”
In a pre-trial motion, the defense requested the court to have an incriminating statement declared inadmissible in the trial because it believed police had failed to read the defendant her Miranda rights prior to interrogating her. Despite the calm yet powerful argument from prosecutor Rachel Den, the motion was granted.
After a few moments of deliberation, Judge Linda Dunham convicted Vega of felony hit-andrun. In an interview after the bench trial, Judge Dunham noted that the reason behind her decision was the “strength of the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies.”
Vega bowed her head in mournful resignation as the verdict was read.

Over the years, various highly acclaimed attorneys, judges, and politicians have not only helped coach the SMHS mock trial team, they have also periodically presided over one of the school’s practice trials (aka scrimmages.)

Adam Schiff (Congressman, D-28)
Kim McLane Wardlaw (United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
John Zebrowski (California Court of Appeal, Associate Justice, 1995–1999)
David Kenyon (retired District Judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California)
Marian Thompson (Retired Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney)
Many Madrano (experienced trial attorney, reporter/anchor with KTLA News and KNBC News, and a Supreme Court/Legal Affairs correspondent for ABC News.
Mark Geragos (experienced criminal defense and civil litigation lawyer and the managing partner of Geragos & Geragos, in Los Angeles.
Chris Norgaard (DTLA civil litigation lawyer, author of “Unfair Competition — Murder By Gunshot”, and former president of the San Marino Unified School District Board of Education)
Judith McConnell (Administrating Presiding Justice, California 4th District Cout of Appeals)

Congressman Adam Schiff meeting with the students after presiding over a practice round

9th Circuit Court Judge Kim McClane Wardlaw meeting with the students after presiding over a practice round

SMHS student petitioner Eric Lau arguing his pre-trial motion before Justice McConnell via video conference

Justice Judith McConnell ruling on respondent’s pre-trial motion to dismiss evidence

Given the above, it goes without saying — the school’s mock trial team does very well annually

The team is currently coached by San Marino resident Diane Evans, with Ms. Evans having joined the team in 2014. Under her leadership, the team has done especially well.

2014 Quarterfinalists
2015 Sweet Sixteen/Top 12 Finisher
2016 Quarterfinalists
2017 3rd Place Los Angeles County
2018 Sweet Sixteen/Top 12 Finisher
2021 Semi-finalists 4th place Los Angeles County

Most years over 100 high schools compete in Los Angeles County Mock Trial Competition

Given the above, it’s no wonder that Ms. Evans was recognized in 2018 as the CRF Attorney Coach of the Year!

The History of the CRF LA County Mock Trial Competition

In 1980, Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) introduced the Mock Trial program, which already had a strong following in Los Angeles County, to all the counties in California. The program was created to help students acquire a working knowledge of our judicial system, develop analytical abilities and communication skills, and gain an understanding of their obligations and responsibilities as participating members of our society. The program currently involves 36 California counties.

The Annual Case

Each year, CRF creates and produces a new set of Mock Trial materials based on an important issue facing America’s youth. The materials include a hypothetical criminal case (including summaries of case law, witness statements, official exhibits, and simplified rules of evidence); lesson plans on the central issues in the case; and competition rules and guidelines. Mock Trial materials from past years are available for purchase through the CRF catalog.

The 2021–22 case: https://www.crf-usa.org/mock-trial-california/forms-download.html

The Students

With the assistance of a teacher and attorney coach, CRF’s Mock Trial program actively engages over 8,000 student participants across the state of California. Students actively experience the excitement of working in teams, exchanging ideas, setting goals, and examining issues while interacting with positive role models from their communities. By studying the case and preparing strategies and arguments for trial, students also develop presentation skills, analytic ability, and team cooperation.

The Trials

Cases are released to all California counties in the early fall. Typically, a county competition occurs in late fall or early spring, with anywhere from two to six rounds of trials. The winners of the county competitions go on to the State Finals in March. In May, the winner of the state competition represents California at the annual National High School Mock Trial Competition, involving teams from 54 states and territories.

The Judge and the Attorney Volunteers

Each year thousands of members from California’s bar and bench volunteer their time to make the Mock Trial an educational and exciting experience for students. Attorneys serve in a variety of roles- acting as team coaches, scoring, and presiding over trials.

Joining the SMHS Team

Students wishing to join the team will need to “try out” in the fall. Try out protocols, time, and dates will appear in the Daily Bulletin within the first four weeks of the school year.