By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands will host the 2026 CNMI Mock Trial High School Championship on Feb. 5 and 6, unveiling a new case that spotlights the growing dangers of teen vaping.
The District Court and the NMI Bar Association announced this year’s mock trial problem, adapted from a high school case developed in the State of Georgia. Court officials thanked Richard Harris, director of Georgia’s High School Mock Trial Program, for sharing the original materials and acknowledged the team of writers and editors who produced the source case.
The 2026 problem focuses on the rapid rise of e-cigarette use among American teenagers. While traditional cigarette smoking among teens dropped to 28.9% in 2017, e-cigarette use climbed to about 20% in 2018 — nearly doubling in just one year. All facts and figures in the case are drawn from university and government research on the health impacts of vaping on minors.
The fictional scenario follows the life and death of Carter Cruz, a popular sophomore at Pagan High School who began vaping in eighth grade. What started as peer pressure and mild rebellion escalated into a habit that worsened Carter’s asthma. According to an autopsy conducted by Marianas medical examiner Dr. Billie Robinson, the aggravated asthma contributed to a heart attack that killed Carter on March 19, 2024.
Carter’s parents, Alex and Nic Cruz, were devastated to learn their son had been vaping for years. They first discovered it only after Carter was suspended for three days in February 2024 for possessing a vape pen at school. His cousin, Kennedy Torres, an ICU nurse at the Commonwealth Medical Center, is described in the case as a sibling-like figure who often spoke with Carter about his health and behavior.
Carter’s best friend, Jessie Andrews, told investigators that vaping was easy to hide from adults and said the two frequently bought devices and e-liquids from Vic’s Vâporium, a local smoke shop in Pagan. The shop is owned by Vic Vâvrick, inventor of the E-Vâp device, which was later acquired by Maurice Phillipe, a long-established tobacco company expanding into the vaping market.
Joseph Winston, an account representative for Maurice Phillipe, maintains in the case that the company does not market to minors and does not support the sale of tobacco or e-cigarette products to underage customers.
After Carter’s death, the Cruz family filed a lawsuit against both Maurice Phillipe and Vic’s Vâporium. Maurice Phillipe has since settled with the family, but the case against the Vâporium continues — forming the basis of this year’s mock trial.
Marianas High School will enter the 2026 competition as the defending champion. MHS won the 2025 CNMI Mock Trial Championship and previously secured first-place finishes in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2024, the school was declared champion by default after an insufficient number of high school teams registered to compete.
The 2026 championship will bring together high school teams from across the Commonwealth to argue the case before federal judges and practicing attorneys, offering students hands-on experience in courtroom procedure, legal analysis and public speaking.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
