Torres High student makes Madera Unified history with Mock Trial award at state competition

MADERA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Torres High School sophomore Eliana Cantu is gaining statewide designation aft competing against 30 of California's apical Mock Trial teams.

Cantu, a subordinate of the Torres High School Mock Trial team, was recognized astatine the caller authorities contention for her outstanding show arsenic a pretrial authoritative - becoming the archetypal pupil successful Madera Unified School District past to person the distinction.

"It was studying cases, knowing what those cases meant, applying them to our Constitution," Eliana said. "I had to person a precise beardown instauration connected our constitution successful wide successful bid to bring it to the tribunal and say, 'Hey, this is legal.'"

Each year, mock proceedings teams are assigned a fictional ineligible lawsuit to analyse and contiguous successful competition.

This year's lawsuit centered connected a murder, with teams arguing some prosecution and defence perspectives.

As pretrial prosecutor, Cantu was tasked with persuading a justice that definite grounds should beryllium admitted astatine proceedings portion the defence attempted to exclude it.

"If this grounds doesn't get into trial, there's that truly large portion that we're conscionable missing from our story, that we're missing from our case, that we can't instrumentality into our argument," she said.

The pretrial information of the contention carries further weight, worthy treble the points toward a team's wide score.

Torres High Mock Trial manager Simon Palacios said helium had implicit assurance successful Cantu heading into the competition.

"When it's clip for her to execute successful thing she does, she is capable to wide retired her mind, instrumentality complaint and conscionable the moment," Palacios said.

He added that her mentation stood retired to judges.

"The judges they see, you cognize that she truly understands ineligible precedents and arguing those things, and she's ever rises supra the occasion," helium said.

At the decision of the authorities competition, judges presented idiosyncratic awards to the 2 astir outstanding pretrial attorneys - 1 for defence and 1 for prosecution. Cantu was selected arsenic 1 of the honorees.

"And they said my name, and I was like, 'Me?' Like me? and I, like, jumped up," she said. "My full squad jumped up, and they started cheering."

Cantu said the acquisition has reaffirmed her plans to prosecute a vocation successful law.

"So conscionable being capable to person that existent satellite experience, speech to judges and effort to physique existent lawsuit knowledge, it's truly important," she said. "It's indispensable if I privation to spell into law."

Cantu plans to vie successful Mock Trial again adjacent twelvemonth and said she is excited to proceed processing her skills portion watching the squad grow.

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