Lawyers e-Journal
Thursday, Mar. 29, 2012
Photograph by
Merrill Shea
The winning team from Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School poses with Mock Trial judges and the championship trophy.
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School named state champion of the MBA's 2012 Mock Trial Program
Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School of South
Hadley won the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2012 Mock Trial
State Championship, advancing to the national competition in
Albuquerque, New Mexico in May.
After the nearly three-hour mock trial, Pioneer Valley was
victorious over Marshfield High School by a 2-1 vote. A panel of
three Massachusetts judges selected the winner; District Court
Justice Barbara Savitt Pearson served as the presiding judge, while
Superior Court Associate Justice John T. Lu and Superior Court
Associate Justice Janet Kenton-Walker assisted.
"You are invested, you are bright, and you give us great
confidence as leaders in our future," said Pearson addressing the
competitors. "You should be so proud of yourselves."
The competition took place in the historic Great Hall in Boston's
Faneuil Hall before hundreds of spectators ranging from friends,
family, and students to legal professionals.
Pioneer Valley represented the plaintiff, Alex Soltin, a
Huffington Falls high school junior who was the victim of bullying
and suffered a mental breakdown. The defendant in the civil trial
was Allen Sway, a teacher at Baird Academy. Marshfield represented
Sway, charged with negligence for failing to properly report the
bullying suffered by Soltin.
"Both teams were just superb," said Kenton-Walker. "It's nice to
have young people so actively engaged in the judiciary."
Pioneer Valley won not only the highest score but also won the
case, convincing the majority of the judges that the plaintiff was
liable.
A donation for $2,500 from the MBA's
philanthropic partner, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, was made
to help fund Pioneer Valley's trip to nationals.
The Mock Trial
Program is administered by the MBA, and made possible by the
international law firm of Brown Rudnick through its Center for the
Public Interest in Boston, which has contributed $25,000 per year
to the program since 1998.