OLYMPIA, WA – Seattle Prep High School’s Blue Team edged out Skyline High School’s Green Team to take the Washington State 2023 YMCA Mock Trial championship on Sunday in Olympia. Seattle Prep can now go on to compete in the national championship in Little Rock, Arkansas in May.
In Mock Trial, teens from across the State receive a case in October and work as a team to become witnesses and attorneys. Students compete throughout the winter and early spring in District Tournaments with the goal of making it to the State Championship in the spring. Throughout the program, students gain public speaking skills and critical thinking experience in addition to working closely with their peers as a team.
The Mock Trial State Finals tournament was held in the Thurston County Courthouse between 24 high school mock trial teams from across the state beginning Friday evening, continuing all day Saturday, and ending in the championship trial Sunday. The teams of students competed as either prosecution or defense in the fictional criminal case of a fatal shooting after an incident of “swatting,” in which someone reports a fake emergency intending to get a SWAT team sent to a home or other location.
The top 12 high school finalists of the competition are as follows:
| 1st: Seattle Prep – Blue | 7th: Wenatchee |
| 2nd: Skyline – Green | 8th: Holy Names – Gray |
| 3rd: Franklin | 9th: Kings – White |
| 4th: Kings – Red | 10th: Oaks Christian |
| 5th: Mercer Island | 11th: Seattle Prep – White |
| 6th: Skyline – Silver | 12th: Eastlake – Silver |
The William Downing Values Award was presented to the new Sequim High School mock trial team, which competed for the first time. The award goes to the team best-exhibiting values of sportsmanship, respect, and professionalism promoted through the YMCA Mock Trial mission.
“This is really really impressive,” Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Lanese told the students at the championship trial after they had finished presenting their case. He praised their knowledge and composure in arguing the two sides of a complex case. “In the courtroom, you try to develop comfort without arrogance, and you all walk that line perfectly. A lot of attorneys take years to develop that.”
Hundreds of volunteer attorneys and judicial officers across the state volunteer time to rate and judge high school teams competing in regional tournaments held throughout the school year and at the state finals.
The YMCA Mock Trial program began in 1987 and is part of the YMCA’s Youth & Government program which helps students experience democracy in action. Mock Trial allows students to participate in true-to-life courtroom drama before real judges and attorneys, gaining an understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary.
Watch the championship here:
