Home-school team courts national title

The state's high school mock trial championship has been captured by a team hailing from a tiny, unconventional institution: A home-school co-op.

The team of 10 home-school students from the Murray and Holladay area beat out 38 teams, including two-time defending champion West High School, with prosecutorial prowess and strategic defense in a mock murder trial.

The win for the Patriots Club marks the first time a home-educated team has won the crown since the competition's 1980 debut.

"This gives us a chance to show the world we (home-educated students) can do it," said 15-year-old team member Jessica Sharp. "We're not stupid or totally socially backward. We can go against other schools and hold our own."

Now, the team and a home-education co-op of parents are scrambling to raise $7,500 to send their winners to next month's national competition in Orlando. They already have some prospects, and have planned a car wash and to sell cookie dough and pizza cards to bring in needed cash.

The Utah Mock Trial competition, sponsored by the Utah State Bar and the Utah Law-Related Education Project, draws more than 1,000 students, 80 teachers, 300 volunteer attorneys and 100 community representatives to more than 110 mock trial rounds each year, according to the project's Web site.

This year, 77 teams — 39 from the junior highs, and 38 high schools — entered the competition, said Janet Hilliard, project mock trial coordinator.

Central Davis won the junior high division.

Trials play out in real courtrooms throughout the state, with each team assigned on the spot to act out one side or the other. The some 3 1/2-hour trials are judged by two volunteer attorneys and a person from the community.

This year, teams dissected evidence in the case People v. Martin. Created by volunteer attorneys, the case surrounds the alleged murder of a high school girl who planned to turn in two classmates for cheating on an exam that determined winners of a prestigious scholarship program.

The Patriots Club discovered the competition as part of suggested curriculum from the American Statesmanship Club and National Association of Parliamentarians, said Michelle Bailey, mock trail coach and mother of three team members.

Team members — Marion Strobell, 15; Maren Despain, 16; Jessica Sharp, 15; Eli Redd, 17; Brittany Bailey, 15, and her twin brothers Ben and Brad Bailey, 14; their cousin Tyler Bailey, 17; Jared Thomas, 15; and Reed Gabrielsen, 15 — worked individually each day. Some say they spent up to 10 hours in a single sitting, poring over case details and polishing questions.

As the finals approached, the team met as often as four times a week, receiving help from coaches Bailey, fellow home-school parent Ann Webb and local attorney George Harris.

Team members say they just made the quarterfinals but quickly rose to the top and stayed there. The Patriots' consistency and confidence helped secure the top spot overall, defeating West by 2 points.

The win brought some of the students to tears.

"They are an inspiration to the home-school community," parent ElLois Bailey said.

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