Around the Schools
Franklin places second in championship round of YMCA Mock Trial competition
The Franklin High Mock Trial team finished second in the 2012 Mock Trial Competition held last month in Olympia. Franklin went against Seattle Prep’s Varsity Team in the championship trial.
A total of 22 high school teams from across the state competed for the title in a three-day, four-round competition at the Thurston County Courthouse.
Student attorneys from Franklin were: 
• Malisha Cooper-Suggs
• A.J. Savini
• Alexandra Ricks
• Madeleine (Bekkah) Smither
• Angela Pham
Student witnesses from Franklin were:
• Ben Megathlin
• Aren Roberson
• Khadija Diallo
• Mary Mitchell
• Dominic Agrellas
Ben Megathlin won the Best Witness Award and Don Eaton was the teacher/Mock Trial Coach.
Once again this year, the students had a lively and topical case to try. It arose from the clash of an aggressive urban bicyclist and a motorist who may have been either driving while oblivious or homicidal. The legal context was a life insurance coverage dispute focusing on whether the biker’s death resulted from her own reckless or illegal conduct.
This is the 25th year for the YMCA Mock Trial program, which began in 1987. Mock Trial is part of the YMCA’s Youth & Government program, which helps students experience democracy in action. Mock Trial allows students to participate in true-to-life courtroom drama before real judges in real courtrooms, gaining an understanding of the law and the role of the judiciary.