Mr Christensen is forming a Mock Trial Team, and it is available to all students to join. It is the first year that Los Banos High School will being taking part in it.

The Mock Trial program is a way to help students to gain knowledge about our judicial system. It helps students acquire better analytical abilities and communication skills. Being part of this program also gives students a better understanding of their responsibilities as a member if society.

Students from different schools from around the county apply case laws to argue a predetermined case. These students are put in teams of four with people from their school and they compete against the other schools. There is a judge that asks questions to the students posing as lawyers and the judge ultimately decides who did a better job. The trials will be held on February 13, 2020 at a location that has yet to be determined. Each year this event is held, the case that is being argued changes. The cases that are picked usually have to do with whether evidence from a case should be excluded or not.

Around 19 students have already signed up, but they are looking for more students than that. When asked how many more students he would like to have sign up, Mr. Christensen said, “At least 10 more.” There can be up to 25 members and a minimum of 8 people per school team. There are no requirements for signing up besides being able to commit to studying case laws and being a good public speaker.

A local attorney is assigned to each school to help with the students perfect their ability in the courtroom. Teams from different schools are either on the prosecutor or the defenses side and the better jobs the students do, the better the chances of winning the case.

If you are interested in signing up or have any questions, see Mr. Christensen in room 55.