Student competitors tackle ecoterrorism in mock trials

Did Cuyahoga Rivers set one of the three incendiary devices that blew up the urban horticulture center at Washington A&M University?

Or was she attending a concert with her cousin at a nearby bar, and it was actually the horticulture professor, who was genetically modifying Douglas fir trees, who set fire to his own building to cover up misdeeds?

The arson that was the subject of Saturday's mock trials involving students from 14 Seattle-area high schools mirrors an actual act of ecoterrorism at the University of Washington in 2001.

In the real event, five people believed to be linked to Earth Liberation Front were arrested in connection with the attack, which targeted the UW office of Toby Bradshaw, whom arsonists mistakenly believed was involved in genetically engineering poplar trees. The center was destroyed; replacing it cost about $7 million.

Saturday's 22 mock trials at the King County Courthouse gave the students "an opportunity to wrestle with the moral issues of politically inspired violence and genetic engineering as well as whether industry money can compromise the academic mission of a big university," say sponsors of the project, the YMCA and volunteer judges and lawyers.

Students as attorneys

Students — wearing dark suits, many carrying briefcases — played the roles of attorneys and witnesses in the trial of Rivers, who was depicted either as an ecoterrorist who masterminded the arson or an innocent person who was nowhere near the horticulture center at the time of the fire.

"She was right in the middle. She prepared the explosives, and two firefighters almost lost their lives," argued prosecutor Scott Ferron, a senior at Seattle Prep. "That the arson occurred, no one can contest that. The arsonist meant to do it."

Defense attorney Sophia Brandon, a junior at Nathan Hale High School, said she didn't excuse the "horrible act that occurred," but that Rivers had no part in it. Her arrest was the result of fumbled work by the FBI, and it was actually Professor Brady Bugovian — who was being pressed to disclose controversial elements of his research — who burned down his own lab.

"He took the easy way out and burned all his research to the ground," argued Brandon, pointing out that Bugovian's two pet snakes escaped the inferno unharmed.

The students have been rehearsing for the mock trial for months. Eight teams were named finalists Saturday; they'll compete again March 8 to be named King County champions. A state contest will follow, with national championships May 6-9 in Philadelphia.

The finalists are Garfield High School, Eastside Catholic High School, University Preparatory Academy, International Community School, Franklin High School (two teams), and Seattle Prep (two teams).

In another courtroom Saturday, teams from Garfield and Chief Sealth High Schools competed.

"It was a catastrophic fire at Washington's horticulture building," said prosecutor Samantha Montarbo, from Garfield, pointing out that a key state witness was J.T. Bates, who was involved in the arson but decided to confess and implicate Rivers and two others in the fire.

Defense counters

Defense attorney Cliodhna Dill countered that the case was like Swiss cheese, "with a lot of holes in it." She said Rivers was at a concert and was nowhere near the horticulture building.

Other witnesses included a homeless person who saw the arson, and the professor himself, who said he was at the horticulture center but fell asleep on a park bench and awoke to sirens and his building collapsing in flames.

Each mock trial had a jury of three attorneys who graded the performance, along with Superior Court judges. Many gave the students high grades for their work.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com