Help the State Bar Meet its National Mock Trial Goals
The State Bar of Wisconsin is just $35,000 away from its fundraising goal of $200,000. Your donation today will help the State Bar to showcase the legal profession and the state in an event that’s expected to draw more than 1,000 participants and observers from 48 states.
The State Bar is also in need of volunteer judges, as well as non-judge volunteers. Non-judge volunteers will help with everything from registration to delivering meals.
Volunteer judges play an essential role in the championship and are needed to judge the rounds. To qualify as a volunteer judge, attorneys and judges must have experience judging at least two rounds of mock trial in the past five years. A great way to get some judging practice is by volunteering at the upcoming semifinal competition.
To donate, visit nationalmocktrial2014.wisbar.org.
To volunteer, contact State Bar Public Education Manager Katie Wilcox at (608) 250-6191 or PubEdCoordinator@wisbar.org.
Feb. 14, 2014 – Students from 16 Wisconsin high schools recently advanced to the State Bar of Wisconsin’s 31st Annual High School Mock Trial State Tournament, a two-day event that starts March 9 at the Dane County Courthouse in Madison.
Each team will have a chance to make their case before a panel of volunteer attorneys and judges, beginning with four trials on Sunday, March 9 and concluding with the top two teams competing in a final round on Monday, March 10, judged by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The winning team will go on to compete against other state champion teams at the National Mock Trial Championships.
This year's state champion has a unique opportunity to represent Wisconsin as the host team from May 8 to 10 at the National Championship in Madison. The State Bar is hosting the three-day event for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The Mock Trial program provides high school students with an opportunity to act as attorneys and witnesses in a court case that has been developed by State Bar members. This year’s students – in teams of 6 to 12 – were presented with a civil case.
The case, which was drafted by members of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Mock Trial Committee, prompted students to prepare and present their arguments based on the following scenario:
Taylor Hamilton was driving Mom’s car, heading to P-cubed on the night of the big game. Alex Cooper left the game early because the team was losing, as usual. Alex cut through the woods and started to cross Nash Street, behind the high school. When the car and Alex collided, Alex was badly injured. Was Taylor careful enough or was Taylor distracted by friends and a text message? Did Alex’s hoodie cause a problem or did he exercise caution in crossing the road?
More than 100 high school teams took part in this year’s regional competition, which is up from previous years.
2014 Mock Trial Regional Winners
All teams finishing first in each region will compete in the semifinals, along with five second place teams that were randomly selected from all second place finishers. The teams advancing to the semifinals are:
Region 1 – Eau Claire
First: River Falls High School Team 1
Second: Superior High School Team 1
Region 3 – Green Bay
First: DC Everest Team 2
Region 4 – Wisconsin Rapids
First: Rhinelander High School Team 1
Region 5 – Appleton
First: Xavier High School Team 1
Region 6 – La Crosse
First: La Crosse Logan Senior High School
Region 7 – Middleton
First: Middleton High School Team 1
Second: River Valley High School
Region 8 – Racine
First: Franklin High School
Second: Christian Life School
Region 9 – Janesville
First: Oregon High School
Region 10 – Milwaukee
First: Shorewood High School Team 1
Region 12 – Juneau
First: Lodi High School Team 1
Second: Beaver Dam High School Team 1
Region 13 – Waukesha
First: Brookfield Academy Team 1
Second: Wauwatosa West Team 1
