In the Clermont County Common Pleas Courthouse in Batavia, on Jan. 29, the Western Brown High School Mock Trial team advanced to the Ohio Center for Law-Related Education Regional Competition to be hosted on Feb. 19. Western Brown advanced to the next round by winning trial competitions against Milford and Eastern Brown high schools. During Western Brown’s two trial competitions, they accumulated individual awards for best attorney (Alaina Cowdrey) and two best witnesses (Nicki Jenkins and Dana Buttree). Western Brown was the only school from Brown and Clermont counties to advance to the next round.
Each year, the Center for Law Related Education creates an original case focusing on a current constitutional issue important to students. Mock trial teams work with faculty and legal advisors who assist the students. They work to prepare their case from both the plaintiff and defense perspectives. Competitions at the district, regional, and state levels are conducted in an actual courtroom and are scored by a panel of lawyers. This year’s case involved a police officer’s use of force while in the line of duty.
After advancing from the District competition on Jan. 29, the Western Brown Mock Trial teams has its sights set on the Regional competition. The team visited the Board of Education on Feb. 8 to talk about their successes. They became the only team in Brown County to advance. Additionally, per advisor Melissa Brown, Western Brown was the only team to advance between Clermont, Brown and Adams Counties. Legal advisor to the squad, Zac Corbin joked that at the District competition he was more nervous about winning the mock-trail case than he normally is about his own criminal prosecutions in the Brown County Common Pleas Court. Corbin serves as First Assistant Prosecutor for Brown County. Moving forward, the team will compete at the Regional on Feb. 19.
