school room | Pixabay (Pexels)
school room | Pixabay (Pexels)
Teams from Navarre High School, Pace High School, Pensacola High School, Tate High School and Walton High School participated in two trials each.
Fifteen area legal professionals served as volunteer judges and UWF legal studies students were on hand to provide assistance to the high school competitors.
“As a graduate of the UWF Legal Studies Program, it was an absolute honor to serve as a judge for the high school mock trial tournament,” said Kia M. Goldsmith, attorney at Clark Partington. “I knew as early as the ninth grade that I wanted to become an attorney and seeing that same passion in today’s youth was a priceless experience. The benefits of this tournament to young legal professionals are immeasurable.”
Awards for outstanding performance were conferred as follows:
- Navarre High School, Best Overall Team
- Noah Haack, Navarre High School, Best Prosecution Attorney Award
- Graham Heisel, Pace High School, Best Defense Attorney
- Sophie Sarazin, Pensacola High School, Best Prosecution Witness
- Aisling Fracasso, Walton High School, Best Defense Witness
Each year, high school mock trial teams compete in the statewide Florida High School Mock Trial Competition. Counties hold competitions to advance teams to the circuit level and one team from each judicial circuit advances to represent the circuit at the state competition.
“UWF’s Argo Invitational is the first tournament in Northwest Florida that gives high schools teams a chance to hone their skills before the circuit competition,” said Dr. Charlie Penrod, UWF associate professor of legal studies. “It provides students the opportunity to practice their public speaking skills in a courtroom setting and receive important feedback they can then use to improve their case for the circuit competition.”
The Argo Invitational High School Mock Trial Tournament was sponsored by Clark Partington Attorneys at Law. For more information about UWF’s legal studies program, visit uwf.edu/legalstudies.
Original source can be found here.