 Hillsdale is happy and proud to report that five Hillsdale members of the 2023 class have made their college mock trial teams!
Cole Baker (barely discernible in top left photo, back row, first on right) is now competing for American University in Washington D.C. Jacob Sarver (top right, back row, first on left) is competing for Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. Pooja Agarwal (left middle photo, center) is competing for Berkeley, where her team of mostly freshman finished third at the Berkeley AAMTI Invitational in November 4-5. Jamie Sloves (right middle photo, bottom row, first on left) is competing for Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Rhea Jain (bottom right) is competing for UCLA where she won won a witness award (10/10 ranks) in at the Anteater Invitational in Irvine on November 11-12 (her first competition). Rhea joins Hillsdale alum Allison Rulli ('20) seen hoisting the trophy from UCLA's win at the City Classic Invitational in Atlanta on October 21-22. In other alumni news, former Hillsdale pretrialer Lucas Immanuel ('21) (bottom left) is part of the revival of the Moot Court team at UC Davis. Good luck getting it off the ground! And Noah Gross ('19) has founded the mock trial program at Pitzer University in Claremont, CA. Good luck Noah! So proud of all you!
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 After a tough and competitive tryout season, and a long deliberation by the coaches, we are happy and excited to welcome our new members! They're already doing fantastic.
Andrew Altorfer Lisa Fuhrmann Isaiah Yeager Ryan Hecht Megan Wong Brooke Weaver Alyssa Meneses Alexa Chapman Grace McCollum Kalea Kim Andrea Chivi Stella Shih Sierra Hartwig Ocean Cheng Piper Fabry  From June 21-23, Pooja Agarwal, Jack Spillner, and Nikki Donovan traveled to Atlanta, GA to compete at the Gladiator 1-on-1 Championship. The case, United States v. Blake Crosby, involved the alleged murder of a controversial Presidential candidate by a former Army sniper from the roof of a hotel in downtown Decatur, GA. The candidate was hit by a sniper bullet during a rally in Decatur Square. Competitors tried both sides of the case as attorneys, and played both witnesses over four rounds. Congratulations to Pooja Agarwal who finished in the top 10 for the second year in a row. Good luck at Berkeley! Congratulations to Nikki Donovan for winning top sophomore of the competition, along with a full scholarship to the Top Mock mock trial camp next summer at Furman College. And congratulations to Jack Spillner for winning the Nobility Award, given to that competitor who best exemplifies the spirit of civility, professionalism, and fair play. Jack was also selected by his fellow competitor to play the defendant in the championship round. Awesome job!
     This past weekend Hillsdale sent three teams to the Tournament of Champions, an on-line tournament put on by Mock On Academy, In the case, Mooreville v. Danny Seaside, the defendant was charged with armed robbery and conspiracy in the $150 million heist of the Bellagia Casino. It was one of the most complex and interesting cases Hillsdale teams have tackled. In a 28-team international field, Hillsdale's A Team finished first in the Casino Division and advanced to the championship to face Henrico, the defending champion and reigning VA state champion. Hillsdale fell in a very close match against a fantastic team. Hillsdale's B team finished fourth (of 14) in the Robbers Division. Hillsdale's C Team made a strong showing but did not place. Rhea Jain and Pooja Agarwal won the top witness awards. Pooja, along with Cole Baker and Jack Spillner also took home top attorney awards. Team B also won the Civility Award. The final was live-streamed on YouTube, which you can watch here.
On April 28-29 Hillsdale sent two freshmen, M Thompson and Melody Puls, to Princeton, New Jersey for the 2023 Princeton Moot Court as part of a 68-team national field. Attorneys were asked to make an appellate argument on three issues: 1. whether a prison regulation denying a prisoner the right to take a high school chemistry class violated the First Amendment, 2. whether education is a fundamental right supported by the Constitution, and 3. whether the prison's denial of the right to an education violated the prisoner's right to due process under the 5th and 14th Amendments. Each team had 20 minutes to present their arguments. After seventh tough rounds, M and Melody came home with the fourth place trophy. It was the first time either had competed in a moot court competition. Congratulations!
 This year's senior class is one of the most talented and skilled group of mock trialers that has ever come through the program. They have won county championships, finished second at states, placed high at national competitions, and won a number of individual awards at the county, state, and national level. But that is not the most important thing about them. They also some of the kindest, most generous, committed, selfless, collaborative, and hard-working group of students the program has seen, truly. It is those qualities that will leave their mark on this program. And it is the example they've set to those that will follow them that will be their legacy. Every year, we ask the seniors to try to leave the program, in one way or another, in a better place than where they found it. They have certainly done that, and much, much more. We will miss them.
 Hillsdale won its 5th straight JV Championship on February 16 in a very close match against an extraordinarily talented Menlo School team. You can see the moment of victory below. First Annual Bay Area Bash: Trinity, Carmel, and Tam Finish 1, 2, 3; Hillsdale Takes Fourth1/16/2023 
On January 7 and 8 Hillsdale and Lynbrook sponsored the first Bay Area Bash with a field of eight teams at Hillsdale High School. After four rounds, Trinity Pacific Christian School took home the championship. It was pleasure, and a lot of fun, to host some of the best team and competitors from around the state. It will now be an annual event! Congratulations to Trinity for coming out on top and to Carmel and Tam for rounding out the top three. Congratulations also to the award winners below:    Hillsdale recently sent three competitors to the Gladiator Olympics, a national mock trial skills competition sponsored by Stand Up Mock Trial and Mock On Academy. Students were given People v. Hancock, an attempted murder case set at a rally for a controversial political candidate. Students then chose among four different categories--pretrial, direct examination, opening statements, and closing arguments. Competitors submitted videos and the six finalists presented live on YouTube. Out of hundreds of entries from the around the country two Hillsdale students, Nikki Donovan and Jack Spillner, made the live medal rounds. After all was said and done, Nikki Donovan won the bronze medal in the closing argument category, and Jack Spillner won gold in the opening category. Congratulations Nikki and Jack! Big props also to Cole Baker who didn't medal but submitted a fantastic opening argument.
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Hillsdale Mock TrialThe Hillsdale Mock Trial team is the competitive mock trial team for Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, CA. Archives
November 2023
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