Jenks High School Named Mock Trial State Champion

By Todd A. Murray

For more than 40 years, Oklahoma high school students have assumed the roles of attorneys and witnesses through the Oklahoma High School Mock Trial program and honed their listening, speaking and persuasion skills. The participants used a fictional case drafted by the Mock Trial Committee, which is funded by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. Forty-two teams competed this year, the most in Oklahoma Mock Trial history.

On March 4, the top two teams met at the OU College of Law Dick Bell Courtroom for the final round of competition. Two Jenks High School teams were pitted against each other for the championship. Team Legal Lions bested Team Suits to claim the state title and the privilege of virtually representing Oklahoma at the National High School Mock Trial Tournament in May in Phoenix. Following the round, the judges noted that there was no need to offer any verbal critique as both teams performed so well that only accolades were due.

The mock trial program is a unique extracurricular activity that develops reasoning, listening and speaking skills, among others. Students are given fictional sworn statements with often contradictory testimony from both fact and expert witnesses, not unlike real legal situations. Jury instructions and trial exhibits are included in the case materials. The students must analyze the materials from all perspectives and filter through information, determining what is not important or relevant to reach the facts needed to present each side of the controversy before volunteer judges and scorers culled from the legal community across the state.

Students also practice acting skills, creating characters for the witnesses. They think on their feet, work as a team and gain insight into the legal world. Courtroom etiquette, not to mention basic advocacy skills, is learned through participation in the program. Participants also serve as bailiffs and timekeepers. The ability to critically think through an issue from multiple perspectives is a skill that will serve the competitors throughout their futures in both their careers and personal lives. Many former mock trial participants attend law school to become not only attorneys but also judges.

The 2025 Oklahoma High School Mock Trial program, now in its 44th year, involved a criminal case from a teenager’s death that may have been caused by illicit substances in a vaping pen. The defendant, a sibling of the decedent, purchased vaping pens for a party and may have permitted the decedent to imbibe illegal substances, which might have caused death. The prosecution won the day in the final round.

The case was released Oct. 31. Scrimmages were permitted before January, when the qualifying rounds were held. The top 24 teams then competed in quarterfinals, with the top eight teams advancing to the semifinals during February. Throughout the competitive season, students honed their skills, impeaching witnesses with their respective statements and making and arguing objections. Students also gave opening and closing statements as well as direct and cross-examinations on three witnesses for each side. Awards for Best Attorney and Best Witness were offered for each team.

The final round was presented to a distinguished panel of judges. The presiding judge was Magistrate Judge Shon T. Erwin, a former mock trial participant. Scoring panelists were Judge Charles B. Goodwin, retired Judge Howard R. Haralson and Judge Mark Schwebke.

Both teams were coached by Michael Horn, Justin McCracken, Levi Applegate and MacKenzie French. Jenks High School’s Team Legal Lions consisted of Mustafa Siddiqui, Adam Humphrey (Best Attorney), Isabel Martin, Madalyn Strawn, Valery Gutierrez, Athena Gadiwalla, Todd Sterling, Thomas Kezia, Ester Chen (Best Witness), Jordan Webb and Aiden Hoskins.

Jenks High School's Team Suits consisted of Eva Hahajan, Emily Seo (Best Witness), Parker Minor, Din Dai (Best Attorney), Isla Walker, Elisha Dalmedia, Marissa Williams, Akshita Vermula, Matthew Livingston, Samantha Kotas, Benjamin McCullough and Harini Sentil.