Participants in a mock trial organized by Kayden Buell, pictured, left to right, are Sierra County Sherrif Mike Fisher, Josiah Perez, Alexxis Gunnier, Aiden Shelby, Kayden Buell, Kaila Russell, James Durney, Judge Charles Ervin, and Court Clerk Tosha Prince.

LOYALTON- Senior Kayden Buell, one of 23 students preparing to graduate from Loyalton High, "pulled out all the stops" for her senior class project. Initially interested in becoming a lawyer, Kayden came across mock trials online and decided to write her own script for a trial.

Twenty hours of work are the standard investment for a senior project. It took every one of those hours under the mentorship of Sierra County's District Attorney Sandra Groven to accomplish this feat.

Despite the project being due on May 10th, logistics required scheduling a mock trial at the Sierra County Superior Courthouse during dates when the courtroom was available, resulting in the mock trial's date of April 24th, 2023.

A synopsis of Buell's script is as follows: Driver James Durney, 18-years-old, was running late for school. He ran a stop sign and smashed into another vehicle. Durney and 17-year-old passenger Aiden Shelby were injured. Unfortunately, the other vehicle with driver 18-year-old Lucas Durney (James' twin brother) and 17-year-old passenger Aubree Roen were killed. Lucas Durney died on impact. Aubree Roen succumbed to her injuries at the hospital.

The investigation into the crash confirmed James Durney attended a party the night before and continued to consume alcohol until the morning hours leading up to the accident.

Only a couple of obstacles in orchestrating the mock trial proved challenging to Buell. A jury trial proved impossible due to the number of fluctuating participants, and ultimately a lack of volunteers resulted in the script needing to be rewritten. Rough drafts to all the actors were issued a week before, with the final script a few days before the mock trial court date.

The mock trial lasted approximately 90 minutes. Three witnesses testified, including the doctor and officer on scene and passenger Aiden Shelby. Witness testimony and the admission of guilt from James Durney paved the way for Judge Charles Ervin to declare the defendant guilty, charged with driving under the influence, manslaughter, and sentenced to 15 years. Buell stated, "Judge Ervin did an amazing job with the kids. He said he hopes the kids involved with the mock trial will never forget the clicking of the handcuffs on James Durney as a sensory memory of how serious drinking and driving can be."

Appreciative of all those who helped ensure her project's success, Buell will receive her grade for the senior project in late May. When asked what she learned from this experience, she replied, "Planning a trial is challenging and stressful. I learned how to work under stress and to do the right thing. We tried to make it as professional as possible, and doing it was lots of fun."

As her interests shift from law to psychology, we wish Kayden much success as she plans to attend Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania on an Academic Scholarship.