The defense attorneys for Kenley Kadich had their hands full.
Their client, a police officer, faced a second-degree murder charge for shooting an unarmed man. The confrontation came in an alley after the cop thought the man had fired a gun and killed the officer’s dog.
At the two-hour trial Thursday, the defense attorneys successfully proved their client’s shooting was justifiable. He was acquitted by Court Commissioner Amy Swingen of the charge.
The officer’s future wasn’t really at stake.
The real outcome only determined which attorneys had the best trial skills.
The shooting was fictitious and the “attorneys” were actually students from Ridgefield and Camas high schools, who were competing in the district mock trial tournament at the Clark County Courthouse.
When the dust settled, the Ridgefield (Orange) and Camas (Team 1) teams won their divisions while Fort Vancouver (Team 1) and Hudson’s Bay teams took second. All four schools won the right to advance to the state mock trial tournament being held March 25-27 at the Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia.
Tyler Bieber of Ridgefield won his division and the overall tournament title as best attorney. Deborah Lubanga of Camas won her division as best attorney.
The tournament began last week, but the final rounds were postponed following the late-week winter storm. Ten teams from seven schools participated. They included Columbia High School in White Salmon, Fort Vancouver High School, Hudson’s Bay High School, Stevenson High School and Seton Catholic High School.
Each student played a role in this year’s fictitious case involving a police officer’s shooting of an arson suspect. The officer had responded to an anonymous call that the suspect, Ernie Jenkins, was hiding in an alley.
Officer Kadich unleashed his dog. But when Kadich got to the alley, he found his dog lying motionless on the ground.
The legal case unfolded Thursday afternoon before Swingen (a real court commissioner.) The prosecution, played by Ridgefield’s team, argued that the shooting wasn’t justified considering Jenkins wasn’t armed and the dog wasn’t shot (as a plot twist, the canine actually died after suffering a heart attack). The prosecution contended that the officer’s history of emotional distress from his wife’s recent death made him prone to a hasty shooting.
In his opening statement, Ridgefield freshman Andrew Rath said the officer didn’t follow procedure in using force because there wasn’t an obvious threat.
“This is a case of emotion,” Rath told “jurors,” who were actually three local attorneys who helped to judge this year’s competition.
But Camas’ defense team showed how the situation led the officer to believe he was in danger. Officer Kadich, played by Camas senior Garrett Wilgus, testified that he saw a metallic object in Jenkins’ hand. Believing it was a gun and that the man had just shot his dog, he fired.
“He took action before action could be taken against him,” Camas junior Alyssa Pietz told the jury.
After hearing closing arguments, Swingen praised both teams for their efficiency in presenting evidence and interviewing witnesses, but told the prosecution they didn’t really have a strong case. She said she favored the defense.
Afterward, defense attorney Pietz shrugged off of her courtroom victory. A three-year mock trial veteran, she said she just enjoys the experience.
“It’s really, really, really fun,” she said.
Laura McVicker: 360-735-4516 or laura.mcvicker@columbian.com.
