The Kiddos

This is the sixth post in a series about the Washington Irving High School Mock Trial team.  Please click for posts one, two, three, four, and five.

There were eight students who performed this case: Sobeida, Alexis, Geannie, Breanna, Anothonia, Jennifer, Sasha and Robbie.  Kimberly was our backup student--she was on the team last year, but recently started a new job and was no longer able to attend practices.  She ended up saving the team from elimination in pretty extreme situation later in the competition...

Sobeida is the only senior on the team, and she played a lawyer on both the plaintiff and defense side.  She is truly a remarkable girl.  She moved to the United States only five years ago and did not speak a word of English when she arrived. Five years later, she is graduating as the Valedictorian of her class.  She recently received the Gates Scholarship, and is planning on attending Northwestern University in the Fall (unless she gets into Harvard off of their waitlist).  Sobeida has the ability to spin witnesses into a confused mess when she cross examines them.  Her thick Dominican accent put other teams at ease; Their surprised looks were always entertaining when she calmly and brilliantly explained away objections thrown in her direction.  For such a new speaker of English, her command of the language is unreal.

The rest of the team is made up of sophomores.  Alexis, a petite, studious, driven and well spoken young woman.  It is clear that she strives to be excellent in everything she takes on.  She also has earned several nicknames throughout her two years on the mock trial team because of her constantly varying hairstyles.  On the Plaintiff side, she played the role of Chris Crangle.  On the defense side, Alexis played a lawyer, and delivered the opening statement for the case.

Breanna played an attorney on both plaintiff and defense sides. Everything Breanna says when she is performing has gravitas.  Her lines are always delivered like a seasoned pastor.  She speaks naturally, but deliberately and could easily walk into any public speaking situation and hypnotize her audience by her presence.  Her demeanor during practice was a different story, though.  Her habit of speaking to herself when she trying to remember her next question caused a lot of breakout of giggling among both the coaches and students.

Geannie aka "Jenny from the block" is the team's newest player. Geannie came to the team this year with a no nonsense at-ti-tude.  In fact, the girl had so much attitude that the judge in the first round of the competition accused of badgering the witnesses during her cross examinations.  The coaches seriously considered getting her a neck brace to stop her from cocking her head from side to side when she spoke.  Geannie played the role of an attorney on the Plaintiff side, and Alex Allen's role on the defense side. 

Robbie, the only male on the team, played the role of Pat Parker on the plaintiff's side.  Like Sobeida, Robbie is extremely good at thinking on his feet.  He was consistently able to deflect the most difficult questions from crossing attorneys.  

Sasha played the role of Cameron Curtis on the plaintiff's side.  Sasha's long curly hair and big smile match  her personality.  She is a deeply loyal friend to her teammates, and is always interested in what is going on in everyone else's life.

Anthonia and Jennifer-- I will explain these two together because they are two peas in a pod.  They are absolute best friends, always together, and both play witnesses on the defense side.  Anthonia played the role of Ryan Ryder, and Jennifer played the role of IM Feddup.  They are both the quietest players on the team, but they are reliable.  They have made a lot of progress since their freshman years.

This is the little team we had, held strongly together by their friendships with one another. With these eight players, Washington Irving High School prepared to get ready for the first round of competition against Essex Street Academy throughout January. . .

The Case

This is Part 5 in a series about the Washington Irving High School Mock Trial Team.  Please click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

This year's case was about a parking ban.  On the morning of March 15^th 2010, the seniors at Excelsior High School drove to school and found “No Parking” signs posted on the four streets surrounding the school.  The students had purchased permits to park on those streets, and so they had no where to park that morning.

Chaos ensued.  Students were late to school, angry parents made phone calls, and students who decided to park despite the signs received parking tickets. 

 Alex Allen, the Mayor of Empireville, and the town’s Board of Trustees had imposed the ban at the Village Board meeting only a few days earlier.  The local newspaper reported the change, but most students did not read the paper, and did not know that they would be unable to park.   

Pat Parker, the school’s valedictorian, mock trial team captain and newspaper editor, believes that his Constitutional right to due process was violated with the enactment of the parking ban.  He had a property interest in the parking permit that he purchased, and due process was not followed in removing his right to that property interest.  Pat Parker is the plaintiff in this case. 

It is unclear whether Mayor Allen imposed the ban for political reasons or for safety reasons.  On one hand, there were several reasons that the parked cars around the high school could cause an unsafe environment.  The cars made snow removal difficult, and their weight had put pressure on the pipes underneath the streets for years and could have burst at anytime.  Further, students loitering around the cars and acting recklessly caused neighbors to become concerned for their own safety.

Testifying to the defense’s behalf was Mayor Allen, Ryan Ryder, the commissioner of Public Works, and I.M. Feddup, an Empireville citizen.  Ryder testifies about his experience with the infrastructural problems of Empireville and the eroding streets around the high school.  I.M. Feddup has lived across the street from school since the time it was built, and she is ‘feddup’ with the students parking on her street.  The parking has caused her property value to decline, and has made it unsafe for her grandkids to play outside when they visit.

Then again, the parking ban might have been enacted for political purposes.  A few months before the ban was imposed, Mayor Allen proposed a Capital Improvement Project that targeted the high school.  The project involved hiring school resources officers and replacing the pipes underneath the streets surrounding the high school.  Mayor Allen believed that the school district should have to pay for a substantial portion of both of these initiatives.  In Allen's opinion, it was the students that caused the problems and the schools should be responsible for paying for these initiatives.  He did not consult the school district about this proposal.

The Superintendent of the Excelsior Central School district, Chris Crangle, found out about the plan in the newspaper and was furious.  He wrote a very strongly worded Letter to the Editor in response accusing Mayor Allen of coming “perilously close to extortion” for his demanding that the school district pay for these new initiatives.  The school district had a very tight budget, and the students were not half as bad as the Mayor had painted them in his remarks.  

 In response, Mayor Allen invited Superintendent Crangle to a lunch meeting to discuss these issues.  This meeting ended poorly, and at the next Board of Trustees meeting the parking ban was enacted. The meeting minutes reported that Ryan Ryder stated that the ordinance to ban parking was needed to put pressure on the school district and the superintendent.  Additionally, Pat Parker reported that Mayor Allen told him the parking ban was enacted to get back at Superintendent Crangle.

Testifying on the plaintiff’s side is Pat Parker, Superintendent Crangle and Village Board of Trustee member Cameron Curtis.  Cameron Curtis was the only trustee who voted against the parking ban.  She is also the only trustee who is not part of Mayor Allen’s political party. She made several objections to the parking ban during the meeting but was outvoted by the rest of the trustees despite her complaints.

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As the reader has probably surmised, this case is not that exciting.  City kids don't identify easily with issues surrounding student parking. Still, the Washington Irving Mock Trial team became obsessed with the fact pattern of this case over the months of preparation, and learned how to spin each side of the story to their advantage in competition. 

To read the full case, click here:  http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PublicResources/LawYouthCitizenshipProgram/MockTrialTournament/2011CASEFINALVERSION11811.pdf