Mock trial madness comes to a close
Mar. 15, 1999
For the second year in a row, the students from Sheboygan South High
School have won the State Bar's mock trial tournament. Beating out 173
teams from schools across Wisconsin, Sheboygan South met Rhinelander in
the final round, judged by the seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices.
The fictional case, County of Clearwater v. Lee Morgan Nash,
involved a waiver hearing to determine whether a juvenile should be
prosecuted in adult criminal court for reckless homicide.
In winning the tournament, Sheboygan South also won the right to
represent Wisconsin in the national high school mock trial tournament,
scheduled for St. Louis, May 6-9. Last year, the team took 12th place in
the national contest.
Other schools, advancing from February regional tournaments to the
March state tournament, finished in the following order:
- 3rd - La Crosse Central
- 4th - Superior
- 5th - Madison West
- 6th - Baraboo
- 7th - Brookfield Academy
- 8th - Shorewood
- 9th - Berlin
- 10th - Appleton East
- 11th - Marshfield
- 12th - Oregon
- 13th - Regis
- 14th - Ashwaubenon
- 15th - Sturgeon Bay
- 16th - Prairie School
Mock trial journalism contest continues to
grow
Journalism also was incorporated into the mock trial tournament for
the fourth straight year. The Bar's Mock Trial Journalism Contest, which
won two national awards from the ABA in 1998, included high school
students from 9 Wisconsin schools. Twenty-one students wrote either
commentary pieces or hard news stories about a mock trial semi-final
round.
The 4 students advancing to the finals were Amy Costello (Pius XI in
Milwaukee) and Amber Oelke (Wausau West) for commentary, and Hillary
Grant (New Glarus) and Sara Spiering (Catholic Central in Burlington)
for hard news. Members of the Bar's Media Law Relations Committee,
chaired by attorney Steve Ritt, judged the final entries and awarded
first place to Amy Costello for commentary and Hillary Grant for hard
news.
Schools participating in the mock trial journalism contest
include:
- Antigo
- Catholic Central
- Greendale
- Milton
- New Glarus
- Pius XI
- Rhinelander
- Wausau West
- Wisconsin Dells
