For the first time since 2013, a team from Ventura County is the first place winner of the California Mock Trial Finals. Trinity Pacific Christian School in Thousand Oaks won the top spot in the statewide competition a few weeks after taking both first and second place in the Ventura County Mock Trial. Another Ventura County high school has reason to celebrate after the state finals. Jessica Zhou of Newbury Park High School took first place in the courtroom journalist portion of the competition.

The Trinity Pacific team (pictured) will now advance to the national mock trial competition to be held from May 13 - 15. The last Ventura County team to win at the state level was La Reina High School in 2013. La Reina went on to place second in the national contest.

Due to the pandemic, the state and county mock trial competitions were held virtually for the first time ever, and the national competition will be virtual as well. A complete list of winners in the California Mock Trial Finals is available here and more information about Ventura County Mock trial is available at www.vcoe.org/MockTrial.

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 Ventura County Mock Trial is coordinated by the Ventura County Office of Education. 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.