On Friday May 8, 2026, students from five local secondary schools competed in the 2nd annual Grey-Bruce Regional Mock Trial Tournament at the Ontario Court of Justice in Owen Sound. The tournament is open to all secondary schools in Grey and Bruce counties.
Teams for this year’s mock trials were entered by Grey Highlands Secondary School, John Diefenbaker Senior School, Owen Sound District Secondary School, Saugeen District Senior School, and St. Mary’s Catholic High School. Each year, the Ontario Justice Education Network (OJEN), publishes a criminal case for secondary students to prepare for. This year’s case, R v. Kendall, focused on a criminal charge of theft over $5,000. The theft in question involved a $15,000 bicycle from a fictional store, Wheelie Good Bicycles.
Each school team prepares legal arguments representing both the Crown and defence. Teams provide lawyers, witnesses, court clerks, and timekeepers for each trial. As they get ready, students have opportunities to learn about trial procedures and formalities within the courtroom. Students gain many valuable skills in critical thinking, teamwork, and communication.
For this year’s trials, the participants were extremely fortunate to have the Honourable Justice C. Chorney and Honourable Justice A. Woodley presiding over the cases and assessing the teams. The student groups are scored on the performance of their lawyers and witnesses, as well as their case theory and legal knowledge. The outcome of the case (guilty or not guilty) is not the deciding factor of the winning team, but rather how the teams score relative to each other.
Awards for individual performances were given out to students who stood out in their roles. Congratulations to Mariah Kelly from Grey Highlands for receiving the award for Best Lawyer. Congratulations to Brooke Maxwell, also from Grey Highlands, for receiving the award for Best Witness. AJ Russell from Owen Sound District received an honourable mention as a believable witness.
After two trials, scores were tallied to determine who would advance to the championship trial. Saugeen District Senior School (SDSS) received a spot after winning both of their trials by points alone and returned to the final trial for their second year in a row. After calculating the margins of victory for three other teams who each had one win and one loss, Grey Highlands also earned a spot in the championship.
The Honourable Justice Chorney presided over the final trial and really challenged students and witnesses on their arguments and statements. Saugeen District represented the Crown, while Grey Highlands posed as the defence. After arguments were heard and a short deliberation period, a verdict of “not guilty” was reached. Justice Chorney provided feedback and valuable advice to each team and announced Grey Highlands as the winning team. Congratulations to Ms. Elder and her student group!
Thanks are extended to all teacher coaches and community volunteers for their hard work in preparing their teams. As well, thank you to all legal professionals (including the team of Crown attorneys in Owen Sound) who have provided guidance and leadership for this tournament. The competition also would not have been possible without the assistance of all staff at the Ontario Court of Justice, who were incredibly accommodating. Thanks are owed to Bluewater District School Board, especially Anita Koeslag, for their support of this experiential learning opportunity for students.
Finally, thanks to the Honourable Justice Woodley and Honourable Justice Chorney for taking time out of their busy schedules to preside over the cases and provide very meaningful and valuable feedback for all students and teams.
For more information about next year’s tournament, please visit OJEN’s website. Legal professionals from the local area who are willing to help teams prepare or who wish to provide sponsorship for next year’s competition are encouraged to get in touch with Cory Munro at Cory_Munro@bwdsb.on.ca.
