9 Mar 2010
Win Keeps Title in Dallas ISD for Two Consecutive Years
DALLAS—Students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts won first place in the 31st Annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition held this past weekend at the Earle Cabell Federal Building in Dallas. This marks the second consecutive year a team from Dallas ISD has won the state title. Skyline High School's team won last year.
Twenty-four high school teams from across the state competed in the event which was presided over by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.
The Booker T. Washington team will now represent the state of Texas at the National High School Mock Trial Championship scheduled in Philadelphia this May.
Nearly 200 Dallas judges and attorneys served as "jurors" during the event and selected the top teams who demonstrated exceptional presentation skills and were the best prepared.
The Booker T. Washington Mock Trial Team includes: Christopher Clark, Toni Campbell, Richmond Greene, Omar Jimenez, Ben Nguyen, Victor Nguyen, Wolf Ozarow, Cristina Vega and Madison Wald. The team's coach is Patricia Woods, a teacher at Booker T. Washington.
In addition to the team title, team member Christopher Clark was selected as Outstanding Advocate. Richmond Greene and Wolf Ozarow were nominated for the Best Witness category.
The Dallas Bar Association sponsors and coordinates the event which is designed to teach high school students how the justice system works and how the law is applied in everyday life, and to expose them to critical thinking exercises and quick analysis through preparation and presentation.
"Dallas ISD students are showing improvement on college readiness indicators… and (the district) has shown improvement on Broad Prize indicators. Among the comparison Texas urban districts, only Houston ISD slightly outperforms Dallas ISD."