Dos Palos High wins first in county’s mock trial competition

And the verdict in Merced County’s first mock trial is in favor of: Dos Palos High School.

Dos Palos High finished ahead of two other schools participating in the Jan. 11 competition, based on scoring by local attorneys Eric Beiswanger, Corbett Browning and David Foster.

Pacheco High School from Los Banos earned second place, and Delhi High earned third. Ashlyn Climer from Dos Palos earned the outstanding role award for playing the part of the prosecution’s expert in human trafficking. Calista Jones from Delhi was the winner for best courtroom artist.

During the mock trial, teams from three high schools played both the prosecution and defense in a hypothetical case on human trafficking. Merced County District Attorney Larry D. Morse II played the role of the presiding judge, and attorneys from his office coached the high school teams in preparation for the competition, which took place in the Merced County Courthouse Museum.

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Dos Palos High wins first in county’s mock trial competition."