The Highcliffe team had been working extremely hard after school and at home to prepare for this tough competition. In October, the students were presented with the case: Jaz Henry (played by Mat Gregson) was charged with handling stolen goods contrary to section twenty two of the Theft Act 1968.
Matt had the excellent George Smith and Andrei Georghe defending him against some stiff opposition. In their role as lawyers the students were poised and presented their case to the court so well that the Magistrates reached a not guilty verdict in this case.
The witnesses, Caitlin Hartigan, Alianna Estall and Ralph Roberts, were not rattled by the intimidating questions thrown their way and spoke eloquently and convincingly. All the witnesses and the defendant were shepherded carefully up to the witness stand by the Usher, Jacob Blackmore who confidently ensured order and procedure was adhered to throughout the trial.
The case for the prosecution was presented by Megan Kydd-Coutts and Stanley Smith. Both Lawyers were clear, determined and at times quite intimidating in their approach to the witnesses. Megan ran rings around the opposing defendant, who was left speechless and almost at the point of admitting guilt. The Highcliffe Magistrates (Jack Gale, Charlotte Lake and Finlay Graham) considered all the points of the case and came to the logical conclusion, bearing in mind the burden of proof, that there was not enough evidence to convict.
The whole trial was overseen by the legal advisor to the Magistrates, Liam McKernon. He articulated all the points of the case to the Magistrates enabling them to come to a well informed decision. The High Sheriff of Hampshire, after witnessing the trial, commented that he saw a ‘few future silks’ in the team. An impressive response to what was an all-round impressive performance.
Despite winning both their matches the team was unlucky to finish third when all the points were totalled up in what turned out to be an incredibly close competition - only 10 points out of a total of 600 separated the first 3 places. All students worked incredibly well as a team, were a credit to the school and are particularly determined to make sure it is the winner’s trophy that they bring home next year.
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