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-Editorial
The Imperial County Office of Education hosted its annual Mock Trial ceremony to honor students who participated in this year’s competition. Vincent Memorial Catholic High School received first-place recognition, while Central Union High School was awarded second place. The event celebrated the efforts and achievements of all participating teams.
Calexico High School returned to the competition after many years’ absence and won third place.
“We had 134 students participate from seven schools,” said Eileen Michelle Verdugo, student events manager for the office. “Calexico was our new school that participated. It’s their first year, and they did absolutely fantastic. We’re so proud of all of our teams that joined the mock trial season.”
Verdugo emphasized the educational value of the program. “Our mission is to improve the quality of life in our community by promoting strong families and students who are prepared for life, college, and career. With student events, we always want to make sure we include students, especially in the mock trial. It’s a great way to learn about the judicial system and everything that it has to offer. Students are given a case, come together to study it, and are prepared to play the roles of the entire judicial system.”
Brothers Alexander and Nathan Garcia participated in the Central Union High School Mock Trial team this year. Alexander described the experience as a valuable learning opportunity.
Alexander Garcia, a member of the Central Union team, called the year “a good experience” and said it was a learning opportunity for the mostly new team. “Half of our team are freshmen, so it’s a very new team, and we’ve been developing together. We’ve worked on our rhythm together. This is really our test year, and we’re really excited for next year and what’s to come,” he said.
Nathan added, “It was fun doing prosecution and defense. I handled the pretrial for defense and played the detective role for prosecution. I also got to meet a lot of new people on the team.”
ICOE Superintendent Todd Finnell praised the students’ skills and adaptability in the competition. “First and foremost, it’s incredible to see how these young students can think on their feet and adapt to whatever comes their way. In a courtroom, that’s very unpredictable. Students often have to switch roles at the last minute due to illness or other circumstances, and I’m always amazed at how quickly they adjust with very little support. Mock trial isn’t just for students who want to become lawyers—it’s about learning to speak, build confidence, and develop character, all traits that help them succeed no matter what path they choose,” Finnell said.
Judge Poli Flores highlighted the skills required in the pre-trial portion of the mock trial competition, saying, “The biggest challenge is when you ask them questions in the pre-trial, because they have to think on their feet. They don’t have anything memorized, and they have to deal with the case law and the facts of the case. I ask a lot of questions, and I don’t know if they like that or not, but that’s how you really see how good and prepared they are.”
Paulina Alcantar, a senior at Vincent Memorial, said the team nearly withdrew before the event. “About a week before we began competing, we weren’t sure we were even going to present,” Alcantar said. “But we decided to go and try our best. In the end, we gave it everything we had. After all the long hours our team committed to the mock trial, we won the finals and will represent the county at the state.”
Lourdes Ramirez, teacher-coach at Vincent Memorial said the team’s success comes down to consistent effort rather than any special formula. “I don’t think there’s a secret, and if there were, other schools would know it,” Ramirez said. “It’s the hard work and dedication these students bring, their commitment to the mock trial team, their ability to analyze difficult material, and putting in the hours. Their effort definitely paid off. With hard work and dedication comes success.”
Students were recognized for their individual performance and scholarships were provided to the best students for their performance and leadership.
