THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL 64 | APRIL 2024 Team members were Ellie Cheng, Jack Dodson, Ethan Hoyle, George Leydorf, Isaiah Payne, Charlie Peterson, Maggie Peterson, Nick Simon, Logan Spencer and Avery Kate Thomas. Other top finishers were third place, Jenks High School’s Team Corner Tigers; fourth, Owasso High School’s Team Barbie; fifth, Broken Arrow High School; sixth, McAlester High School’s Team Black; seventh, McAlester High School’s Team Gold; and eighth, Clinton High School. Earning awards as best attorneys were Elaine Gao and Jack Dodson, with Molli Thomas and Maggie Peterson winning best witness honors. Matthew Livingston, with Jenks High School, won the best courtroom artist award, and Kadence Kibler, with Clinton High School, won the best courtroom journalist award. MOCK TRIAL VOLUNTEERS The Mock Trial program is sponsored and funded by the Oklahoma Bar Foundation and the OBA Young Lawyers Division with coordination by Judy Spencer. More than 300 judges and attorneys volunteered their time to work with mock trial teams as coaches and to conduct the competitions. Presiding and Scoring Judges Retired Canadian County District Judge Edward Cunningham served as presiding judge during the competition finals. Scoring judges were Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Judge David B. Lewis, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Noma Gurich, U.S. Western District Judge Shon T. Erwin, U.S. Western District Judge Charles B. Goodwin and U.S. Western District Bankruptcy Court Judge Sarah Hall. The judges evaluated the students based on their familiarity with the case and the formulation of their arguments. Students received points for each phase of the trial, opening, direct and cross-examination, closing argument and how well their witnesses responded. Teams were paired with volunteer attorney coaches. Mock Trial Executive Committee Orion Strand, chair Jennifer Bruner, immediate past chair Kevin Cunningham, case development chair Mock Trial Committee Members S. Shea Bracken Andrew Casey Christine Cave Andrew Medley Anthony Purinton Michael Nesser Gessica Sewell Carolyn Thompson, honorary Oklahoma City and Tulsa volunteer coordinator Molli Thomas of Jenks High School receives the Award for Best Witness. Jack Dodson of the Academy of Classical Christian Studies receives the Award for Best Attorney. Maggie Peterson of the Academy of Classical Christian Studies receives the Award for Best Witness. The courtroom artist competition continued to thrive in its fifth year. The winning entry came from Matthew Livingston of Jenks High School.
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