The Piedmont High School Mock Trial team placed first at the Alameda County Philip A. Harley Memorial Mock Trial Competition on Feb. 25, beating Bishop O’Dowd in the finals and advancing to state.
PHS’s prosecution, led by history teacher and coach Dave Keller, defeated O’Dowd’s defense by 11 out of 1,533 points in the final round, 772 to 761. The round was presided over by the Honorable Judge Noël Wise from the Alameda County Superior Court and scored by a panel of five practicing attorneys.
PHS was undefeated through the entire competition, which ran from January to late February. PHS won against Albany, Berkeley, Granada, and American high schools in the first four rounds and defeated Amador Valley in the semi-finals, 587 to 583.
This marks the first time in over six years that PHS has won the Alameda County championship title. The last time PHS competed in county finals was 2018. PHS now advances to the state competition and will represent Alameda County against other schools in California.
(Mock trial is a simulated trial competition based on the California criminal courts system. Each round is about two hours long.)
No doubt the dedication and team work of each one of you has paid off! so proud of the PHS team way to go, keep the PHS banner soaring.
another proud grandma from Virginia
Very impressive indeed !
Bravos to the team………a good coordinated team work only can bring such
good result on a consistent basis. Especially proud of Sajan, my favorite prosecutor . Keep up the good work and the very best of luck at the state level.
If the Covid thing disappears any time soon then you guys will be able to hold trials in person and that would be awesome !
Proud of all this team members. It is not easy you have to work hard and give time and be a teammate I am proud of each one.keep up the good work.love you all.
From NJ. Anjana bhatt. Sajan’s Grandmother.