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 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!