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Two Owasso Mock Trial Teams to Compete for State Mock Trial Championship

February 28, 2020

Two Owasso High School mock trial teams, Team RDEX and Team Rutherford, will compete to determine the winner of the Oklahoma High School Mock Trial competition on Tuesday, March 3. The final round will begin at 5 p.m. in the Bell Courtroom at the University of Oklahoma College of Law in Norman. The public is invited to attend.

“This is the third year in a row for two Owasso teams to go head-to-head for the state championship,” said OBA Mock Trial Coordinator Judy Spencer.  “This is an exciting time for Owasso, and we wish both teams the best of luck.”

The two teams have advanced through a series of rounds that started with a field of 41 teams representing 30 schools across the state. The Oklahoma champion will compete in the national competition in Evansville, Indiana, in May.

This year’s case is a criminal prosecution brought by the state of Oklahoma against defendant Kristen Taylor, who is charged with negligent homicide arising out of the death of her unborn son following a motor vehicle accident. The case centers around two main issues – first, whether Taylor was intoxicated and at fault for the collision or whether the collision was caused by a defect in the vehicle she was driving. Second, whether the cause of death for Baby Doe was the accident or a pre-existing birth defect.

The competition involves teams of students taking on the roles of attorneys and defendants. The “trials” are heard by a judge and attorneys in a courtroom setting where individual and team performances are evaluated.

Team RDEX is coached by teacher Dustin Devore and attorney Nicole Longwell. Team members are Jesse Anderson, Aubrey Broughton, Melody Carney, Kelli Casteel, Hannah Robbins, Eden Rodriquez, Ryan Rodriquez, Lauren Siegfried, Helena Walker and Cole Wyrick

Team Rutherford is coached by teacher Dustin Devore and attorney Deirdre Dexter. Team members are Emily Carr, Preston Dunbar, Maggie Hazelrigg, Sam Lee, Ronan Locker, Morgan Meyer, Kennedy Patterson, Logan Schofield and Katheryn Turner.

Retired Judge Edward Cunningham will serve as presiding judge during the competition finals. Scoring judges will be Judge Shon Erwin, Judge Patrick Wyrick, Judge David Lewis, Judge Charles Goodwin and Judge Suzanne Mitchell.

The Mock Trial Program is sponsored and funded by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and the Oklahoma Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Over 400 judges and attorneys volunteered their time to work with mock trial teams as coaches and to conduct the competitions.

The Oklahoma Bar Foundation, through its grants and awards program, allocates funds to nonprofit agencies and programs like mock trial. The mission of the foundation is to ensure justice is possible for all Oklahomans through the promotion of law, education and access to justice. The 18,000-member Oklahoma Bar Association, headquartered in Oklahoma City, was created by the Oklahoma Supreme Court to advance the administration of justice and to foster and maintain learning, integrity, competence, public service and high standards of conduct among Oklahoma’s legal community.

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