"This is her mother," argued the prosecutor, referring to Georgina.

For the purposes of this mock trial--held as part of a law enforcement class at the Central County Occupational Center-- Georgina played the role of the victim's mother. She was one of nine Willow Glen High School juniors on the prosecution team, made up of students in the morning class. Students in the afternoon class acted as the defense team.

The case before them bore strong similarities to the Scott Peterson trial. A woman was missing, and while no body had been found, her boyfriend had been arrested for her murder based on myriad circumstantial evidence. On a lunch break during the trial, held in the CCOC's auditorium, the Willow Glen members of the prosecution team assessed their chances for victory.

"The prosecution needs to build a very big case because there are no prints, no nothing," said Marisol Torres, who served as court reporter. "There's no evidence against this guy."

"They don't have enough evidence to say it is or isn't him," said Viviana Martinez, who sat on the jury. "It can go both ways."

In the end the jury, made up of six students from the morning class and six from the afternoon session, ruled that the evidence against the defendant wasn't strong enough and declared him innocent.

"They were much better prepared than the prosecution," Central County Occupational Center instructor Rico Sciaky said after the trial.

Sciaky, a former law enforcement officer, started teaching the CCOC class three years ago. He said he added the mock trial to the curriculum this year so his students would gain an understanding of what happens after an arrest.

"They have the whole court process from beginning to end," Sciaky added. "In law enforcement you have to learn how to present your case. They were able to learn how stressful it can be."

Before the trial witnesses were given scripted testimony to study and were instructed not to say anything more than what was written for them when they took the stand. Some witnesses had trouble following these instructions.

"Some people are getting out of hand a little," said Viviana when describing the morning's testimony.

Students got their case files two weeks before conducting the mock trial, but there were last-minute substitutions when some students couldn't make it to the courtroom.

"I just got mine two days ago," Marisol said.

Before the afternoon's testimony began, Sciaky warned the student attorneys against asking leading questions like "Wasn't the suspect wearing a pink shirt?"

"'What was the suspect wearing? Is it appropriate?" he told them.

Sciaky's students agree that he's a patient teacher.

"He makes sure he explains stuff to us until we get it," Marisol said.

The classmates say their instructor also encourages them to work together.

"We're all a team," Viviana said. "I think that's the first thing he taught us when we walked into class."

By the time the high school students finish the year-long law enforcement course, they'll have accumulated 525 hours in police training--three quarters of the time required to complete the police academy. This is important for students like Jose Cervantes, who has wanted to be a police officer since he was a boy.

"I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn," said the Willow Glen High School junior.

"We have the basic training," Viviana said. "What you learn in the [police] academy, we already know."

"It'll be review for us," Jose said.

Students in the CCOC class meet for three hours a day to learn about traffic investigation, drunken driving, police vocabulary, penal codes and writing police reports. They earn 30 elective credits for completing the course.

For Marisol, learning to write police reports has been the hardest part of the class. She said the physical training is also "pretty tough."

"We're at different levels," said Jose about the running, jumping jacks, sit-ups and push-ups the class does twice a week

However, not all of the Willow Glen High School students in the class want to pursue career in law enforcement. Viviana said she wants to major in psychology, but the law enforcement class is good for her personal knowledge.

"It tells you what you can and can't do it modern life," she added.

"It prepares you for law enforcement but also for laws you should know," Marisol said.

Sciaky plans to expand his CCOC offerings next fall to include a class in legal careers that will train students to be paralegals and court reporters. He says the mock trial program will become part of that class.

The CCOC serves students from six high school districts, including San Jose Unified. Students say an added benefit of the law enforcement class has been meeting peers from other schools.

"All of us are coming into this place with the same goal," said Bryson Barnette, an investigator for the prosecution in the mock murder trial. "We have so many different backgrounds, but we all kind of clash and work together."

"During our physical training, we're all in the same boat," added Bryson's sister Briana, who acted as bailiff. "We're all kind of tired, but we push each other."