Sept. 8, 2010 – Although the 2010-11 school term has only just begun in most Wisconsin communities, hundreds of high school students across the state are already engaging in behavior that’s guaranteed to land them in court on Feb. 12, 2011.
How can we be so sure – and shouldn’t lawyers across Wisconsin be doing something about it?
We sure can because the students in question are joining Mock Trial teams sponsored by over one hundred high schools to compete in simulated trials at the regional, state and national levels, beginning on Feb. 12; and hundreds of attorneys are already doing something about it by volunteering to coach a local team or to judge at Mock Trial tournaments – but more volunteer attorneys are needed.
The teams of six to twelve high school students follow the rules and structure of a typical court trial to gain unique insights into the operation of our justice system. They play the roles of attorneys and witnesses as they argue a case before three-person panels of judges, composed of volunteer attorneys and judges, except for the state finals, which is presented to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices.
A new case is developed each year by members of one the State Bar’s 26 practice sections. The 2011 case was written by the Elder Law Section members Jennifer O’Neill, Gwen Kuchevar, Carol Wessels, Peter Grosskopf and Jane Lokken (with assistance from non-members Patricia Furlong, William Mitchell College of Law, Alan O’Neill and Kaitlin Richardson).
The hypothetical case involves two children struggling over control of parental assets. One of the parents has been deceased for a few years and one of the children (Alex) has been named as the agent in a Durable Power of Attorney for Finance. The other sibling believes that Alex is spending the funds for personal gain and has petitioned the court for a review of the Power of Attorney. The student litigants will explore a range of thorny issues arising from this all-too-common scenario. In exchange, they gain unique insights into the justice system and develop research and presentation skills they will use throughout their lives.
Like a real court proceeding, the Mock Trial competition requires enormous effort by a team of contributors. Each of the 100+ teams participating in the program has a teacher-coach from the sponsoring high school, but each team also requires an attorney-coach. Another 450 attorneys judge regional Mock Trials at locations around the state on Feb. 12. Attorneys are needed for both aspects of the program.
The Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Program is sponsored by the State Bar, with support from the Wisconsin Law Foundation. The 2011 state finals are scheduled for March 14 in Madison and the national championship will be in Phoenix on May 7-9.
Additional information about the Mock Trial program and other law-related education activities sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin can be found on www.wisbar.org/lre.
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