Creekview High School’s Law and Criminal Justice Academy has had a busy winter and spring earning high placements and Championship titles in Mock Trial, Moot Court, Legislative and Courtroom Artist competitions through different circuits. 

“Most schools do not compete in more than one circuit so we’re kind of unique,” said  Jonathan Ray, Creekview High School Law and Criminal Justice Academy director. “It is really unusual for any school to offer all of the opportunities that we do. Any of these achievements alone are considered a big deal as each of these circuits have high levels of competition. We are grateful for the level of district and campus support we get and the culture around the Law Academy that has been developed.”

The Law Academy has accomplished the following in the winter and spring: 

David Post Mock Trial Tournament (May 7, 2022)
Law Academy Mock Trial students coached by teacher Brian Sheguit won the David Post Tournament on May 7, 2022, at the George Allen Courthouse in Dallas. The competition was for beginners with under two years of trial experience. Creekview’s team consisted of all first-year competitors. 

Students Dominic Rogers won Best Attorney and Kelsea Hayes won Best Witness at the tournament.   

National High School Mock Trial Courtroom Artist Competition (May 7, 2022)
Alessia Chavez Flores placed second at the National High School Mock Trial Courtroom Artist Competition on May 7, 2022.

YMCA Youth and Government State Conference (April 23, 2022)
Law Academy students competed at the YMCA Youth and Government State Conference in Austin on April 23, 2022, and returned with six top five placements, three nationally qualified teams, and two State Champions.

“This is the most students, double our previous record, that Creekview has ever had qualify for the YMCA National Judicial Conference (NJC), which will be held in early August in Minneapolis,” Ray said. “In fact, due to our strong showing, Creekview will comprise half of all of the students qualifying to represent Texas at NJC this year.”

Mock Trial
The varsity mock trial team coached by teacher Brian Sheguit consisting of attorneys Alina Kassam and Sharon Oh and witnesses Sophina Boychenko, Yashica Nabar, Amisha Islam, Nicholas Pesqueda, Katlyn Keo, and Chelsea Martinez were named State Champion for the District Court Division qualifying for nationals.  

The junior varsity team coached by Sheguit consisting of attorneys Dominic Rogers, Edith Rosas, and Emma Hill,  witnesses Alexis Cruz, Carmyn Wise, Joy Lee, Kelsea Hays, Emma Hill, and Dominic Rogers, Bailiff Danae Anderson placed fourth in the County Court Division.

Moot Court
Creekview’s Moot Court coached by Jonathan Ray had two teams rank and qualify for Nationals. Angela Nguyen and Isaac Yoo took second place and Caroline Ready and Bianca Flores took fifth place, becoming Creekview’s first-ever freshman team to qualify for nationals.

On the other side of the bench, Sungjae “Brian” Kang was named the State Champion Appellate Justice and Kyren Davis took third place in Appellate Justice.

Legislative
In Legislative, James Lee was selected for the Governor’s Cabinet. Lee has also applied to attend the Conference on National Affairs in North Carolina in July and is awaiting his invitation to the event.

Cornell’s Inaugural Moot Court Tournament (April 23, 2022)
Shemaiah Dejorge and Liza Frolova won Cornell’s Inaugural Moot Court Tournament on April 23-24, 2022, becoming National Champions. Maeve Durkee and Atlas Wyatt finished fifth at the tournament. 

Duke University Moot Court Invitational (March 19, 2022)
Moot Court student Shemaiah Dejorge was awarded Best Individual Orator for having the best average speaker scores out of more than 130 competitors in the virtual Duke University Moot Court Invitational on March 19, 2022. 

“With this win, Shemaiah becomes the second student in Creekview history to be individually recognized nationally in both Mock Trial and Moot Court,” Ray said. “This marks Creekview Moot Court’s third National Championship Title this school year.”  

Dallas Bar Association Mock Trial State Championship (March 5, 2022)
Law Academy student Alessia Chavez was named Courtroom Artist State Champion at the Dallas Bar Association’s Mock Trial State Championship on March 5, 2022, qualifying for the National High School Mock Trial tournament in May hosted by the State Bar of Michigan. 

“This is the first time a Creekview student has won the Courtroom Artist State Championship,” Ray said. “In the Courtroom Artist competition, artists sit in on a Mock Trial round and create an original work in about an hour and a half. After considering all submissions, the judges, some being actual courtroom artists themselves, awarded Alessia the championship title.” 

Harlan Institute’s Moot Court Semifinal Rounds (February 12, 2022)
Moot Court students Isaac Yoo and Brandon Fantine finished ninth place in the nation at the Harlan Institute’s Moot Court Semifinal Rounds on February 12-13, 2022. 

All four of Creekview’s Moot Court teams competed in the semifinal rounds. 

“Creekview had more teams than from any other school in the country,” Ray said. “This is also the first time in school history that every Creekview team has advanced.”