The Chaminade High School Mock Trial Team captured its first Los Angeles County Championship in the Constitutional Rights Foundation Mock Trial competition held at the Stanley Mosk Superior Courthouse Wednesday night.

Starting with 94 high school teams from throughout the county, students argued the People v. Hayes, a murder case involving alleged police brutality with a justifiable homicide defense.  During more than a month of competition that spanned seven rounds, the Legal Eagles went undefeated, defeating Malibu High School, Palos Verdes Peninsula, North Hollywood High School, Clark High School, and previous county champions Louisville High School and Monroe High School.  In the final round, Chaminade’s Prosecution team won a conviction against the Defense team from the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and captured the title. The Prosecution legal team, led by attorneys Samantha Bader ’18, Louis Gerny ’18, and Rebecca Steinberg ’18, argued their case to Superior Court Judge Ron Rose and five distinguished practicing attorneys.

Samantha Bader ’18 was recognized as the top Prosecution Attorney for the entire competition. Noah Aire ’20  from the middle school team was also recognized as a top witness in the Junior High competition for his portrayal of Campus Security Director Lou Williams.

The members of the 2015 Championship Team are Noelle Johnson ’16, London Pace ’16, Maxwell Newman ’17, Conor Fairtlough ’17, Spencer Levitt ’17, Lexi Afradi ’17, Veronica Mansour ’17, Christine Gotthardt ’17, Christopher Azarloza ’17, Bryce Hurless ’17, Kristina Marter ’17, Judy Yang ’17, Ariana Otero ’17, Samantha Bader ’18, Louis Gerny ’18, Rebecca Steinberg ’18, Spencer Delgado ’18, and Hannah Sellfors ’18. The championship team is coached by Jennifer and Bert Bader.

Chaminade now moves on to the California State Championship to be held in Sacramento March 18-20, 2016.