Mock Trial Sets the Bar High

In 2019, the Law Magnet Mock Trial team made its first trip to nationals finishing in 2nd place. They didn’t compete in 2020 for reasons that remain undisclosed; however, they returned in 2021, clinching 3rd place at nationals and Sritanvi Bulusu winning a Best Witness award. The following year, a team composed largely of sophomores—and even one freshman—made history by winning the national championship with Naudia Terry earning the coveted Best Advocate award. In 2023, the team reached another milestone: for the first time ever, two Law Magnet teams qualified for nationals, advanced to the national round, and—composed mainly of sophomores—emerged as co-champions. Not only that, two witnesses from those teams were awarded the National Best-Witness award. While their hopes for a “three-peat” fell short last year, they sent two judges to nationals. 

The Law Magnet Mock Trial team is eager to build on its impressive legacy this season, starting with the Judicial Youth and Government District Competition took place on November 9, 2024. As the largest delegation, with 17 mock trial teams, the Law Magnet team gathered at Duncanville High School from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After four intense rounds, countless references to Drake lyrics, and fresh puns inspired by the AI-generated case “Nutty Negligence” (take a moment to guess what that case involved), the team clinched the district championship in trial court. They also had five teams and four judges qualify for the district court competition, all of which are now in the running to compete at nationals.

But for now, let’s take a moment to celebrate the victories. Shoutout to the following students for their outstanding performances at the district competition—be sure to cheer them on as they head to state in February!

District Court:

Team 1: Carla Serrano, Emily Munoz, Luciana Arauz, Serena Herrera, and Fouzan Yousuf (District Champions!) 

Team 5: Alondra Rodriguez, Cati Cruz, Fatima Abrego Escandon, Karen Corpeño, Paige Wright, Cash Messler, and Leighton Watson (2nd)

Team 4: Ashima Yadav, Eliana Micheal, Iya McCormick, Natalie De La Rosa, Erick Paz, and Julian Rendon (4th)

Team 9: Karia Mackfield, Emma (Rose) Rojas, Lizzeth Osorio Garcu, Milan (Jordan) Shelton, Ni’Koriya Brown, Jorge Iniguez, Jung-hwa Tutt, and Willie Ray (8th)

Team 2: Krystal Ma, Suzette Hernandez, Juan Cantarero, Juan Rojas, Marco Hernandez, and Marcos Prieto (10th)

Team 3: Ella Marlowe, Gisselle Sauceda, Harlem Gilbert, Aditya Peri, Homero Lozano, and Mario Guzman

Judges:

Abygail Vargas 1st 

Brandon Plascencia (4th)

Neil Bhate (5th)

Elizabeth Bell

Anaya Martinez

3rd Place Media Delegate: Emily Ramirez

County Court:

Team 10: Kelsey Pujol, Megan Bhate, Reese Coffee, Xochitl Garcia, and Jaxon Ryder

Team 11: Jayna Kush, Revah Cherukuru, Tonalyolotl Aguinaga, Anurag Mittal, Kranthi Peri, and Manav Amipara

Team 14: Bethany Ramos, Caesar Flores, Joshua Stoker, Juan Tovar, and Julian Vela

Team 15: Allyson Henderson, Deanna Pedroza, Ismaelle Tchinda, Penelope Gray, and Naseem Muhammad

Team 16: Camila Anton Vasquez, Isabella Lobo, Lucia Phelps, Mira Russell, Paola Montalvo, Simone Detzel, Tarahji Norvell, and Teya Wordofa

Judges

Morgan VanArsdall

Alex Tran

“Winning 1st place as a judge was rewarding because I’ve had bad judges before, and I wanted to ensure that all 8 teams got a fair judge. I’ve placed last before, and I’ve also placed 3rd at districts as part of a team. I’m happy that our teams were able to celebrate their wins and learn from their losses.

Being the president of our delegation was more of a marathon. While prepping for districts, I had to track 110 students and their progress. There were times when freshmen called me at 11 PM for support.” – Abygail Vargas, 1st Place Judge and Youth and Government President.

“At first, I thought we hadn’t made the cut when everyone else was being announced. I turned to my co-counsel Emily with a puzzled look, thinking we didn’t make the cut. But all of a sudden, 1st place was announced, and I heard my team’s name called up. My team bursted with excitement as we knew the long nights had paid off.” – Fouzan Yousaf, Captain of the 1st Place Team.