Mock trial won the annual Garden City tournament after defeating three of the eight schools competing at South Oct. 19 and 20.

The tournament consisted of trials in which two teams compete against each other, presenting a pre-scripted court scenario. Each team of six attorneys and three witnesses presents its case to the judges, who then score the competitors to determine the winner. 

Senior Claire Gardner, a captain, said the team is optimistic for a successful season.

The Garden City tournament case was a motion to suppress, a request by a defendant to exclude evidence obtained in violation of their constitutional rights. In this tournament, the defendant in a mugging trial moved to suppress the victim’s identification of the alleged mugger.

“It is a preseason tournament, so I’d say right now it’s kind of just a sign of hope for what’s to come in the rest of the year,” said Gardner. “It doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily be successful in the main season—which is our main goal every year–but it’s a good sign.”

Senior Sonya Gelfand, another captain, said she is excited about the range of talent on the team.

“We put different people in for different trials,” said Gelfand. “It’s really promising and exciting to see that we can win even with new members performing because it shows the dedication and the passion that everyone has for mock trial.”

The team placed in the top two out of 132 teams in the state two out of the past three years. Two years ago, the team placed eighth in nationals. Last year, however, the team was eliminated in the preliminary round of the state tournament.