The 43rd Riverside County Mock Trial competition is underway.
Hemet High School defense attorney Cody Moore, standing, gives his opening statement as defendant Katelynn Tan, left, listens during round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial at the Robert Presley Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. The school’s team was taking on Riverside’s Ramona High School. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Ramona High School’s prosecutor Lequan Do, right, speaks Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, during opening statements in round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Hemet High School defense attorney Cody Moore, second from right, gives his opening statement as defendant Katelynn Tan, left, listens during round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 against Riverside’s Ramona High School. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Hemet High School student Katelynn Tan, left, who is playing the defendant, is escorted to her seat by bailiff Rudhra Jariwala, center, as fellow Hemet student Isaac Shumaker, right, prepares to take the stand in Riverside County Mock Trial competition Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Ramona High School’s prosecutor Avree Pieters, right, speaks during pretrial arguments in round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial in Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025 against Hemet High School. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Riverside County Judge Jerry Yang oversees a trial between Hemet and Ramona high schools in Riverside County Mock Trial competition in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Hemet High School student Katelynn Tan, left, plays the defendant and is escorted to her seat by bailiff Rudhra Jariwala, center, as fellow Hemet student Isaac Shumaker, right, prepares to take the stand in the Riverside County Mock Trial on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A mock trials judge holds a scoring pad as Ramona and Hemet high schools compete in round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Hemet High School student Rudhra Jariwala, playing a bailiff, oversees the court as Hemet and Ramona high schools compete in the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Katelynn Tan, a Hemet High School student portraying the defendant, answers questions from the witness stand as Riverside County Judge Jerry Yang observes during the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Hemet High School defense attorney Cody Moore gives his opening statements Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, during round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside against Ramona High School. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Mock trial judges listen to Ramona High School’s prosecutor Avree Pieters, right, as she speaks during pretrial arguments in the Riverside County Mock Trial in Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Roudy Hendrix, a student at Riverside’s Ramona High School, is sworn in as a witness by Hemet High School student and bailiff Rudhra Jariwala during round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. The final round of county competition is set for Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
1 of 13
Hemet High School defense attorney Cody Moore, standing, gives his opening statement as defendant Katelynn Tan, left, listens during round three of the Riverside County Mock Trial at the Robert Presley Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. The school’s team was taking on Riverside’s Ramona High School. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The two schools squared off inside a real courtroom in the Robert Presley Hall of Justice in downtown Riverside. In mock trial, students serve as defense attorneys and prosecutors, witnesses, clerks and other posts as they argue and present a realistic legal case.
Ramona and Hemet high schools were among the teams competing in round three of the mock trial. Round four picks up Saturday, Feb. 8.
The field of 24 schools will be narrowed to one champion, who will be crowned Tuesday, Feb. 18, after the championship round. Opening rounds of competition started Tuesday, Jan. 21.
This year’s case, People v. Gold, is a kidnapping case that involves evidence of ligature marks, a positive drug test, matching tire marks and incriminating statements.
The Riverside County champion will punch a ticket to the California Mock Trial Competition from March 14 to March 16 in Los Angeles. The state winner will go to the National Mock Trial in Phoenix between May 8 and 10.
