Trinity Pacific Christian School in Thousand Oaks is the first and second place winner of the 2021 Ventura County Mock Trial with Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley taking third place.
The winning teams were announced this evening after seven days of competition that were held entirely online for the first time ever due the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-six teams from 22 high schools throughout Ventura County participated in this year’s competition, which is coordinated by the Ventura County Office of Education. Here is how the top eight teams placed:
1st - Trinity Pacific Christian School - Blue Team
2nd - Trinity Pacific Christian School - Silver Team
3rd - Santa Susana High School - Team Holmes
4th - Oak Park High School - Black Team
5th - Newbury Park High School - Gold Team
6th - Newbury Park High School - Panther Team
7th - Nordhoff High School - Law Rangers
8th - Oak Park High School - Gold Team
“We’re thrilled that the pandemic didn’t keep the Mock Trial from taking place this year,” said Dr. Cesar Morales, Deputy Superintendent at the Ventura County Office of Education. “Students and coaches put in countless hours preparing for this popular educational competition. I want to thank the VCOE Student Competitions team and the volunteer judges and scoring attorneys who made the event a big success in a new virtual format.”
A complete listing of winners in all of the various judging categories is available at www.vcoe.org/MockTrial. Trinity Pacific also won the Ventura County Mock Trial in 2018 and 2019. They will now go on to represent Ventura County in the California Mock Trial contest, which will take place via online March 18-21. Ventura County has taken first place at the state level in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013. A list of past Ventura County Mock Trial winners is available here.
About the 2021 Ventura County Mock Trial
Courtroom drama comes to life in the Mock Trial competition as students take on the roles of participants in a criminal trial, including attorneys, witnesses, bailiffs and journalists. The students normally present their cases in real courtrooms before actual local judges with local attorneys on hand to score the competition. Because of COVID-19, this year’s Mock Trial was held virtually, with participants gathering online in Zoom-like meetings. This year’s fictitious case, People v. Croddy, concerns crimes that may have been inspired by a conspiracy theory about extraterrestrials that spread on social media.
The 22 high schools that participated this year are Adolfo Camarillo High School, Agoura High School, Calabasas High School, Channel Islands High School, Fillmore High School, Grace Brethren High School, La Reina High School, Newbury Park High School, Nordhoff High School, Oak Park High School, Oaks Christian School, Pacifica High School, Rio Mesa High School, Royal High School, Santa Paula High School, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley High School, St. Augustine Academy, Thousand Oaks High School, Trinity Pacific Christian School, Ventura High School and Westlake High School.