The success of Cotter’s Mock Trial team has taken them places, this time to the State competition.

Cotter’s team traveled to the Rice County Courthouse in Fairbault, Minn., to compete against Rochester Century for the Regional title.

Earlier during the competitive season, Cotter’s Plaintiff team met with Century’s Defense and lost by only three points.

When it came time for Cotter’s Defense team to meet Century’s Plaintiff, Cotter was prepared to bring home a victory.

The team knew that the scores would be close from the moment the trial started. This trial was unique in that there were two scoring judges and one proceeding judge. After a very dramatic hour and a half, a verdict was reached by the judges, which included a twist.

One scoring judge had Cotter’s team winning by two points, the other, losing by two points. This resulted in a tie, with a score of 208 to 208.

The official rules of Mock Trial state that in the event of a tie, the third judge, or the presiding judge, will make the final ruling. Saturday’s presiding judge, Bill McGinnis, made the decision to advance Cotter’s team to state and ruled a win to Cotter.

“This is the first year of our Mock Trial program. Who would have thought we would make it to regional finals? Who would have thought we would win? But we did.” said senior defense attorney, Sammy Knight.   “We put in the time, and we gave it our all. I could not be more proud of my teammates and all we have achieved together, nor could I be more grateful to our coach, Mr. Howard, for sharing with us his love of Mock Trial and giving us the guidance we needed to realize our potential.”