BRICK – Inside the Brick Township Municipal courtroom, students from the two high schools faced off during their annual Mayor’s Cup mock trial.
The event is a long-standing tradition in the town, and coincides with the Ocean County Mock Trial Competition.
Brick Memorial High School’s Prosecution took on the Brick Township High School Defense in this year’s criminal case: United States of America v. Ellis Kerwin. Former Dean of Admissions at Metropolitan University, Ellis Kerwin, has been arrested and charged as part of a yearlong investigation conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the State of Metropolitan.
According to the case, Kerwin is alleged to have engaged in the theft of honest services, including accepting over $100,000 in impermissible benefits from representatives of “We Get You In,” which is a local college placement program run by Devon Morris.
Morris is a key witness for the State and has pleaded guilty to a related crime. Kerwin denies the allegations and claims that no crimes were committed in the Admissions Office during their tenure.
Lawyer Clark Demarest presents their opening statement for the State. (Photo by Alyssa Riccardi)
Before investigation could start, Kerwin left the university. After a new Dean of Admissions, Jean Cote, began her role, an internal admissions audit was ordered, showing some irregularities.
Prosecution lawyers Benjamin Neller and Clark Demarest stated that Kerwin exploited the United States Postal Service and denied college applicants the right to honest services. They claimed that Morris kickstarted the scheme that Kerwin facilitated. Parents of the applicants involved with “We Get You In” made sizable donations to Metropolitan University. The lawyers stated that percentage of those donations were given to Kerwin, who accepted “dirty money.”
In defense lawyers Jacob Storch and Chase Roberts’ opening statement, they attested that Kerwin is a respected woman and is innocent. They claimed her reputation is being ruined due to Morris’ criminal acts and she was just his scapegoat.
The prosecution had three witnesses: Amari Simpson played by Nate Devlin, Devon Morris played by Jakub Kriso, and Jean Cote played by Skylar Hillin.
The defense also had three witnesses: Brighton Kershner played by Christian Booker, Ola Tang played by Nunia Najjarian, and Ellis Kerwin played by Lacey Ireland.
Simpson is a veteran of the US Attorney’s Office with extensive experience in fraudulent crimes.
Morris created the business “We Get You In” with the intention of getting privileged applicants into universities. He testified that their clients had their applications sent through the US Postal Service to the admissions offices and Kerwin’s personal mail.
Cote, the current Dean of Admissions, revealed the issues of the admission office handling the students’ applications that went unmonitored by Kerwin.
Tang is accredited by the American Forensic Accountant Society as a Certified Forensic Accountant. She stated that while doing Kerwin’s taxes, she never discovered anything out of the ordinary.
All students from Brick Memorial and Brick Township pictured along with Mayor Crate. (Photo by Alyssa Riccardi)
Kershner was accepted into Metropolitan University while Kerwin was Dean despite having terrible grades and being underqualified. A troubled teen who lost his parents, Kershner stated that Kerwin guided him and went out of her way to assist him.
Kerwin explained her retirement from the school was due to the fact that she was extremely ill with cancer. She said no one was aware of her departure because her illness was so sudden.
Once the mock trial concluded, Judge Joseph Grisanti (the township’s court attorney) scored each team on a point system and determined the winner of the evening.
Brick Memorial High School, a.k.a. the prosecutors, scored the win and took home the “Mayor’s Cup” trophy.
BMHS Mock Trial Team Advisor Diana Corde-Leone explained how students have been working since the beginning of the school year to prepare for the competition.
“’These students work extremely hard to produce a finished product worthy enough to present in a real court room, in front of acting judges,” Corde-Leone said. “To say I am proud to be their coach is a true understatement, it is an honor.”
“This event last year was one of the very first events I did as mayor and it was really exciting and I enjoyed watching,” Mayor Lisa Crate said. “This year, I know a lot of the students so it’s really fun to know them personally and see them up their working the courtroom.”
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