For the second-year-in-a-row, Bluewater District School Board held the Grey-Bruce Regional Mock Trial Tournament at the Ontario Court of Justice in Owen Sound.
Each year, the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), publishes a criminal case for secondary students to prepare for with this year’s case, R v. Kendall, focused on a criminal charge of theft over $5,000. The theft in question involved a $15,000 bicycle from a fictional store, Wheelie Good Bicycles.
Teams for this year’s mock trials were entered by Grey Highlands Secondary School, John Diefenbaker Senior School, Owen Sound District Secondary School, Saugeen District Senior School, and St. Mary’s Catholic High School.
At the event, each school team prepares legal arguments representing both the Crown and defence. Teams provide lawyers, witnesses, court clerks, and timekeepers for each trial. As they get ready, students have opportunities to learn about trial procedures and formalities within the courtroom. Students gain many valuable skills in critical thinking, teamwork, and communication.
For this year’s trials, the Honourable Justice C. Chorney and Honourable Justice A. Woodley presiding over the cases and assessing the teams.
The student groups are scored on the performance of their lawyers and witnesses, as well as their case theory and legal knowledge. The outcome of the case (guilty or not guilty) is not the deciding factor of the winning team, but rather how the teams score relative to each other.
Awards for individual performances were given out to students who stood out in their roles with Mariah Kelly from Grey Highlands for receiving the award for Best Lawyer and Brooke Maxwell, also from Grey Highlands, for receiving the award for Best Witness.