Exeter Union High School’s Gaby Rodriguez ended her senior year of mock trial by winning the J. Skelly Wright Constitutional Advocacy Award for Outstanding Pretrial Attorney at the California Mock Trial Finals in March. Rodriguez, who will attend UCLA in the fall and major in chemistry, won the award for her performance as defense pretrial attorney.
After winning the Tulare County Mock Trial title in February, Exeter prepared for an additional month for the state championships, which were held at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles on March 17-19.
This year’s fictitious case was People v. Franks – the trial of Jordan Franks, who was accused of stealing a fellow actor’s signet ring – a ring once owned by William Shakespeare. Participants in Mock Trial work directly with legal professionals and attorneys to craft arguments and performances aligned with current law, rules of objection, and precedent from a dozen prior Supreme Court rulings.
The Exeter team was comprised of: Holly Decramer, Eden Diaz, Trinity Elliott, Ethan Gonzales, Wyatt Jardon, Carter Lang, Iani Martinez, Natalie Oneto, Marin Parker, Isabella Payne, Mia Regalado, Gaby Rodriguez, Lizette Rodriguez, Alex Romero, Ryder Stimpel, Megan Thompson, and Gemma Valero. The team was coached by Heidi Carmen, with assistance from attorneys Adam Clare and Roger Wilson.