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Finals General Information

GENERAL COMPETITION INFORMATION

GENERAL COMPETITION INFORMATION | TEAM INFORMATION | COUNTY COORDINATOR INFORMATION

Welcome to CRF’s 29th Annual California Mock Trial Finals, San Jose, March 19-21, 2010. The Mock Trial Program is coordinated by Constitutional Rights Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation that has developed law and business-related educational programs in Los Angeles for over 46 years. The program is co-sponsored by the California Bar Foundation, Daily Journal Corporation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and Lisa Sardegna and David Carrillo. CRF would like to thank the Santa Clara County Bar Association, Santa Clara County Superior Court, and the Santa Clara County Office of Education, for making the 29th Annual California Mock Trial Finals possible.

Additional Sponsors

Hon. Read Ambler/JAMS, Santa Clara County Law Advocates, McCrane Greenfield, LLP
Katherine Gallo, Esq., Santa Clara County Government Attorneys Association, Law Offices of Scott Storey
Charles Roe and Patti Green Roe, Law Offices of Walter Hammon, Ella Gayle Hamlin Foundation, Farmers Insurance Co.
Haynes & Boone, LLP, Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Santa Clara County, The Mountain Winery Foundation

AGENDA

Each team member should download the agenda for details regarding the weekend events.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Team Registration/ Orientation/ Teacher Meeting
Team registration, orientation and teacher meeting, will occur on the first day of the competition weekend, Friday, March 19. Team registration will take place from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroom. At least one adult member from each team is required to check-in.

The competition orientation will take place at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroom from 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. All participants must attend the orientation and all teachers must attend the teacher meeting immediately following the orientation.

Student Social
The social is for mock trial students only and will take place on Friday at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroom from 8:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. It will provide students free dinner, as well as a chance to hang out, relax, and an opportunity to get to know other students by exchanging county, city or school pins.

We recommend that coordinators or schools contact their local county protocol office, their city’s chamber of commerce, or the winning team’s school for pin donations. This should be as simple as a phone call and a fax about the program. Students will be able to exchange these pins all weekend, including at the dance on Saturday night.

Student Dance/Finalist Announcement
The dance will take place at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroom on Saturday from 8:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The door will be open after the dance for teachers, coaches, and parents to hear the finalist announcement. At least one team member from each county must be present at the time of the announcement. Immediately following the announcement, there will be a brief meeting for the two finalists.

Artist Breakfast
On Saturday morning, March 20, from 9:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m., there is a breakfast meeting for all registered courtroom artists. This meeting will give the courtroom artist a chance to meet other artists, learn about courtroom art as a profession, and get feedback on their Round 1 drawings. This meeting will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, Pagoda Room.

The official courtroom artist round (Round 3) will begin at 1:00 p.m. IT IS MANDATORY THAT ALL ENTRIES MUST BE DONE IN COLOR AND BE ON 11"X 14" PAPER. If you will be using charcoal pencils, please use some type of spray sealer to reduce smudging. This change is for State Finals only, and has made per the request of the professional courtroom artist who conducts the artist seminar and selects the winning entries. First, second and third place plaques will be awarded at the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, March 21 at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroom.

Please go to the Courtroom Artist Contest section for additional important information.

Journalist Breakfast
On Saturday morning, March 20, from 9:00 a. m.–11:00 a.m., there is a breakfast meeting for all registered courtroom journalists. This meeting will be held at the Fairmont Hotel, Almaden Room. During this seminar, students will interact with other courtroom journalists and learn tips on how to become a better reporter and writer from a professional journalist. Students should write during Round 1 and bring a draft copy to the journalist breakfast for feedback.

ALL ENTRIES MUST BE BASED ON WHAT STUDENTS WITNESS AT THE STATE FINALS AND CANNOT BE WRITTEN PRIOR TO THE EVENT. ALL ENTRIES MUST BE TYPED AND TURNED IN ELECTRONICALLY TO CRF STAFF BY 5:00 P.M. ON THE DAY OF ROUND. CRF STALL WILL BE LOCATED IN THE JUROR ASSEMBLY ROOM ON THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE COURTHOUSE. SUBMISSION MAY ALSO BE E.MAILED TO This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it BY 5:00 P.M.

A professional journalist will judge all entries with first, second and third place plaques awarded to at the Awards Ceremony March 21 at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroom.

Please go to the Courtroom Journalist Contest section for additional important information.

Awards Ceremony
The Awards Ceremony will take place at the Fairmont Hotel, Regency Ballroomon on Sunday, March 21 from 1:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m. Seating at the Awards Ceremony is open.

Plaques and medals will be awarded to the top eight teams in California, with the first place team receiving the James A. Cobey perpetual trophy. In addition, Outstanding Attorney, Outstanding Witness, Outstanding Clerk and Outstanding Bailiff awards will be given to students who exhibit exceptional ability as noted by the judges and scoring attorneys. The J. Skelly Wright plaques will be given to the Best Defense Pretrial Motion Attorney and the Best Prosecution Pretrial Motion Attorney. Lastly, plaques will be awarded to the 1st–3rd place courtroom artists and journalists. After the event, every student will receive a certificate of participation in the California Mock Trial Finals.

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Airport
The closest airport to the official mock trial hotel is Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Hotel
The official California Mock Trial Hotel will be the Fairmont Hotel, 170 South Market St., San Jose, CA 95113. The rooms are $105.00 a night. The rate is for singles/doubles/triples or quads (four people per room). Room tax will be added to the discounted rates.

To reserve rooms please call the hotel directly starting February 23 at (408) 998-1900 and mention that you are with the California Mock Trial State Finals when making your reservations. Reservations are on a first come first serve basis.

Please do not overbook and reserve only the number of rooms you will be using during the competition. The practice of overbooking and canceling reservations may cause CRF to be financially liable and thus increasing future mock trial fees.

There will be no more scheduled events after the Awards Ceremony on Sunday, March 21. Most likely, your group will stay in San Jose three nights–Thursday, Friday and Saturday–and rooms have been reserved accordingly. Beyond the Mock Trial dates, when you arrive and leave is up to you and your group. All of your rooms may not be available for check-in when you arrive, but most hotels make arrangements for luggage storage until the rooms become available.

Meals
Many other reasonably priced restaurants are also located around the hotel and the courthouse. We recommend that students bring $70.00-$90.00 for meals. We are working on a tight schedule, so be sure to plan your meals carefully. There is no eating in the courthouse.

Weather
The weather in San Jose can be unpredictable this time of the year. Please bring an umbrella, jackets, hats, etc.

TRIALS

All trials will take place at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse, 191 N 1st St.,San Jose, CA 95113. All teams will participate in four full rounds of competition. Round 1 will be held on Friday, March 19 and Rounds 2, 3 and 4 will be held on Saturday, March 20. The finals will be held on March 21. Please review the agenda carefully.

Each team will have the opportunity to present both prosecution and defense arguments at least once. The scoring structure will be exactly as it has been in the past, based on a team’s win/loss record and point percentages.

Each team is required to designate a person to serve as “Courtroom Observer” for all trials. The Observer’s responsibilities include: checking the status of the courtroom prior to and after each trial to ensure that all furniture and courtroom items are returned to their original position and condition; and watching for proper treatment of courtroom furniture and items by participants and spectators. It is NOT the responsibility of the courtroom observer to watch for rule or procedural violations. Each Observer must complete the official form distributed at the competition and return it to the trial presider after each trial. This individual can be a teacher, parent or student.

Scores will NOT be distributed until after the awards ceremony. In an effort to maintain optimism for all teams throughout the weekend, no team will learn whether they have won or lost a trial. Thus, no team will be discouraged from presenting its best efforts in each round. Round 1 assignments will be posted on CRF’s message board by 3:00p.m. March 8. Please go to www.crf-usa.org, click on mock trial and message board. You will have to register as a new user in order to access the message board and view your team’s assignments.

Pretrial Motion
It is mandatory for students to argue the pretrial motion before all rounds at State Finals.

Championship Trial
The Championship Trial will be held 9:00 a.m., March 21 at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse, 191 N 1st St.,San Jose, CA 95113. Seating in this courtroom is limited and to ensure that all counties have the opportunity to send representatives to observe the trial, each team will receive three tickets. People with tickets will have priority for seats until 8:30 a.m. At 8:30 a.m., people will be seated first-come, first-served as space allows.

Trial Dates and Times
Round 1 – Friday, March 19, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Round 2 – Saturday, March 20, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Round 3 – Saturday, March 20, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Round 4 – Saturday, March 20, 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m
Championship Trial – Sunday, March 21, 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m

IMPORTANT COURTHOUSE REMINDERS

*** Failure to follow any of the instructions below may disqualify your school from the competition

All students, family, and friends MUST be quiet while in the hallways as many courtrooms are still in session and are conducting official business.
Please respect the courtroom. Many judges and clerks no longer allow mock trial students to use their courtrooms as in the past, items have been moved and not replaced. To ensure that future mock trial students can utilize the courtrooms, please do not touch or take anything that does not belong to you.
You must leave the room in its original condition and ensure all furniture and courtroom items are replaced to their original positions (please do not adjust chair heights or disturb court papers). Each team must complete an observer form and return to the presider or to CRF immediately following each trial.
Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES may you enter the judges’ chambers.
Please note that not every courtroom will have a jury box, podium or easel.
Please do not bring to the courthouse a change of clothing or extra pair of shoes, any swiss army knives, aerosol hairspray, scissors, knitting needles, metal finger files, screwdrivers, tools, wallet chains, handcuff keys, or any items that may be possibly used as a weapon.

VIOLATIONS OF THE ABOVE REMINDERS MAY BE GROUNDS FOR DISQUALIFICATION

National Mock Trial
The winner of the State finals will represent California at the 2010 National High School Mock Trial competition in Philadelphia, PA, May 6-8.

MAPS

The hotel is an easy walk to the courthouse (approximately 10 minutes). Click here for an area map.

Adults and students should be aware of their surroundings at all times. When walking in the evening, please walk in groups.

EVENT ADDRESSES

San Jose Fairmont Hotel, 170 South Market St., San Jose,CA 95113
Santa Clara Superior Courthouse, 191 N 1st St., San Jose, CA 95113

Constitutional Rights Foundation, 601 S. Kinsley Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90005,
213.316.2129, Fax. 213.386.0459

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