Coming soon to a courtroom near you
Students to play lawyer in Mock Trials Goshen Pat C. Macintosh, a sophomore at Big Apple State College, a small college in upstate New York, has been charged with “stalking” another student, Jamie Gates, via an on-line, campus-sponsored chat room. Both students live in the same co-ed dorm on the campus. Is Macintosh guilty or innocent? This hypothetical case of cyber-stalking will be argued by teams of high school students from around the county as they compete in the 19th annual New York State Bar Association’s Mock Trial Tournament, to begin on Saturday, March 17, at the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen. The Mock Trial program lets students to play the parts of attorneys in local courtrooms, with students arguing for both the defense and the prosecution. The Orange County Bar Association provides judges to hear the cases presented by the students as well as attorney-coaches for the teams. The teams have spent the last few months preparing for their presentations in court. They study affidavits and court procedures under the guidance of their attorney-coach and an advisor from their schools. Round 1 goes from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m., and Round 2 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Because of the uneven number of teams, there will be a lunchtime trial from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The schedule allows each team two trials, one as defendant and one as plaintiff. Each team will be in a different courtroom and face a different opponent for the trial. The single eliminations and semi-finals will be held at the government center on March 24. The county finals are scheduled for April 17. The trial schedule is as follows (plaintiffs are listed first): Round 1 1. Pine Bush v. Goshen 2. Warwick v. Highland Falls 3. John S. Burke v. Minisink 4. Marlboro v. Port Jervis 5. Cornwall v. Monroe-Woodbury 6. Chester v. Valley Central Round 2 1. Valley Central v. Pine Bush 2. Monroe-Woodbury v. Warwick 3. Port Jervis v. John S. Burke 4. Minisink v. Marlboro 5. Highland Falls v. Cornwall 6. Goshen v. Chester The countywide tournament is the first stage in the New York State Mock Trial Tournament, sponsored by the New York State Bar Association. The local tournament is sponsored by the Orange-Ulster BOCES and the Orange County Bar Association. The program is coordinated in Orange County by Maryanne Monte and Evelyn Schneider of the Orange-Ulster BOCES and the Family Court Judge Carol S. Klein, who represents the Orange CountyBar Association. For more information, call Maryanne Monte at the Orange-Ulster BOCES at 781-4363 ext. 10745.