Participants in the Juneau Regionals competition on Feb. 1, 2025, gather for a group photo. The Juneau competition is one of 10 that took place around the state. Photo: David Krahn.

Feb. 19, 2025 – Twenty high school mock trial teams are headed to compete in Madison in early March.

The State Bar of Wisconsin’s High School Mock Trial program teaches students how our system really works – by doing what lawyers do: try cases (fictitious) firmly grounded in the facts and the law, in front of a neutral arbiter. The tournament is made possible with grants from the Wisconsin Law Foundation.

The teams competed in 10 regional tournaments around the state on Feb. 1.

Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Kristine Snow has volunteered with the State Bar’s Mock Trial program since 2008, as a tournament judge – both scoring and presiding – and as an attorney coach. Now she volunteers as the coordinator of the Juneau regional tournament.

For Judge Snow, the program deserves her time.

“Mock Trial provides unique learning opportunities for students to be exposed to the legal system and see how it works. It is unlike other extracurricular experiences because it is less about memorization and more about thinking on their feet, just like in the real world,” she said.

In the State Bar’s 2025 High School Mock Trial Tournament, students across Wisconsin must determine who is guilty of homicide after a participant in a national virtual reality video game competition, held in (the fictitious) Clearwater, Wisconsin, was found stabbed to death – and the victim’s biggest rival is charged with first-degree intentional homicide.

No two competition rounds are ever alike. “It is fun to see the students’ improvement over the day of the competition. We often see students start as witnesses as freshmen, and progress through participation as litigators as seniors,” said Judge Snow. “Each year we see improvement and they are often as prepared as the lawyers I see in my courtroom. Hopefully the experience inspires them to consider law as a profession.

The Juneau competition “was one of the highest quality and closest competitions we have ever seen in our region,” Snow said.

We Need Volunteer Judges: No Experience Necessary

In the Juneau tournament, “we were fortunate this year in our region to have many judges that have previously volunteered as judges in the past,” Snow noted.

But volunteers are needed. Attorneys and judges – help make the tournaments happen as high school mock trial teams tackle a challenging homicide case set in the context of a video game competition.

Volunteers – whether practicing attorneys or judges on the bench – are needed. Training is provided. Volunteer judges are needed for the Semifinal competitions in Madison on Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, 2025. Session times are Friday, March 7, from 5 to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, March 8, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Generally, volunteers choose to be judges for either the morning or afternoon competitions, but you can choose to volunteer for both sessions.

To volunteer, visit the Mock Trial volunteer page, and fill out the form. If you have questions, contact Katie Wilcox by email or by phone at (608) 250-6191, or (800) 444-9404, ext. 6191.

The 2025 Mock Trial Teams Headed to State

Congratulations to these teams who will compete in the Wisconsin High School Mock Trial semifinals tournament in Madison on March 7-8, 2025. The first and second teams from each region will compete:

Appleton

1. Xavier High School
2. Appleton West High School

Eau Claire

1. Waukesha South High School
2. Superior High School

Green Bay

1. Bay Port High School
2. De Pere High School

Juneau

1. Lodi High School
2. Beaver Dam High School

La Crosse

1. River Valley High School
2. Reedsburg High School

Madison

1. Madison West High School
2. Sun Prairie West High School

Milwaukee

1. Shorewood High School
2. Whitefish Bay High School

Racine

1. Franklin High School
2. Nicolet High School

Wausau

1. Wausau West High School
2. DC Everest High School

Waukesha

1. Brookfield Academy
2. Brookfield Central High School

Mock Trial: Funded by the Wisconsin Law Foundation

The Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament is a State Bar of Wisconsin program funded by the Wisconsin Law Foundation, the charitable arm of the State Bar.

The Wisconsin High School Mock Trial program is funded by a generous grant from the Wisconsin Law Foundation, the charitable arm of the State Bar of Wisconsin, supporting law-related education and public service programs statewide. Donations to the Wisconsin Law Foundation’s Mock Trial Fund can be made online at wisbar.org/wlfdonate.