Court was in session April 24 for the annual Simcoe-Muskoka High School Mock Trial Competition.

Students from 12 schools took on the roles of lawyers, accused and witnesses to present their case to a real judge or justice of the peace.

“This is a great event for the students and the volunteers,” said organizer Judge Glenn Krelove.

“The good thing about this is it brings all these groups together. The justices, all the law clerks and reporters, they just love this stuff. They all volunteer their time.”

The participants were given a synopsis of a fictional case with one school taking on the role of the Crown and the other the defence.

This year’s event saw a fictional Melinda Taffi on trial for the murder of her husband Jeremy Allonby, and included a police detective and nosey neighbour as witnesses.

Teams worked with their teachers and lawyers for the past few months, practicing at schools and in the courtroom.

The teams then met at the Barrie courthouse to duke it out for the mock trial trophy and bragging rights.

Official markers give students scores for their performances, which are added up to determine the winning school.

“How each individual lawyer and witness does has a big impact on the trial,” Krelove said. “The witnesses are just as important as the lawyers in the way they act. They are just amazing actors and actresses.”

Mike Barrett, from St. Joseph’s High School, said the event was exciting.

“It’s nice getting up close to see what a real lawyer’s job is like,” he said. “It’s a good experience. I am here will all my friends. It’s a good night out.”

Facing off against Barrett on the Crown side was Steven Van Tassel from St. Peter's Secondary School.

Van Tassel said he thinks the event is great experience for students.

“It’s even a good reference for colleges or universities and it’s really fun.”

The mock trial competition, sponsored by the RCMP, OPP, Barrie Police Association, the Simcoe County Lawyers Association and others, has grown over the 16 years since it began.

“It just started off this small thing with four schools. Now it’s 12 and we could easily do 24. We just can’t do it all in one night,” Krelove said. “We actually have more judges that want to do it, but we don’t have enough courtrooms.”