Teams from around Simcoe County and up into cottage country tried their legal hand Thursday night during the 27th annual Simcoe-Muskoka Mock Trial at the Barrie courthouse.
In the end, the markers determined the winner to be the team from Collingwood Collegiate Institite, with Barrie North Collegiate coming in second. Barrie North was coming into the event as the reigning champion.
Other schools that participated included St. Peter's Catholic Secondary School, Nottawasaga Pines Secondary School, Elmvale District High School, Orillia Secondary School, Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School, Georgian Bay Secondary School, Banting Memorial High School, Twin Lakes Secondary School, Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, and St Dominic Catholic Secondary School.
The Simcoe-Muskoka Mock Trial competition sees high-school law students represent either the Crown or the defence in the case, which is tried independently in a series of courtrooms. The case which they try changes year to year, and this time around it included a banana and no love lost.
The event was organized by Superiort Court Justices Fred Graham and Peter Douglas, as well as Glenn Krelove Stacey Nichols and Cecile Applegate from the Ontario Court of Justice. Barrie North teacher Ron Cobbett was also part of the organizing committee.
Judges who lent their time to the event included Justices Joseph Wilson, Peter Douglas, Laura Bird, Cary Boswell, Jonathan Bliss and Robert Gattrell.
Courthouse staff also taking part in the annual event were courtroom clerks Katherine Johnson, Sylvie Scully, Marissa Arguello, Adrianne Fahey, Kristen Alfred and Candice Coelho. Court reporters included Esther Davidson, Kateryna Mykhayletskyy, Alexandra Logozzo, Erin Thomas and Jean Young.
Other volunteers helping to bring the event together included Kaleb Bush, Ryan Bush, Riley Dunlop, Ian Shirley, Beckham-Brodie McLeod, Nadine Krelove and Dwayne Rogers.
Logistics and secretarial assistance was provided by Cheryl Hunt and Nicole Anderson, while Natalia Dos Santos and Deborah Wilkinson completed the end-of-evening tally.
