Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Program Celebrates 25 years!
State Bar President Tom Basting (right) presents LRE Committee Chair Lindsey Draper with a resolution commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Program.
Since its inception in 1983, Wisconsin’s mock trial program has helped educate more the 30,000 Wisconsin youth about the legal system. For the past 25 years, mock trial has helped foster understanding and respect for the legal system and the rule of law by:
- promoting greater understanding and appreciation for the law, court procedures, and the American judicial system;
- improving basic life skills, such as critical thinking, communication, and advocacy skills
- improving communication and cooperation among community members, including students, teachers, government leaders, law professionals and citizens;
- increasing appreciation for the principle of equal justice for all;
- promoting an awareness of current legal issues;
- promoting the exchange of ideas among students from throughout Wisconsin while providing a fun, rewarding and memorable experience of interaction.
- fostering teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation among young people of diverse interests and abilities.
Special Thanks for supporting the Mock Trial Program:
- Whyte Hirscheboeck Dudek S.C.
- Stafford Rosenbaum LLP
What's so great about mock trials? Mock trials are structured like a "real" court trial and follow the same rules. High School students of all ages and abilities get a hands-on learning experience. This experience can help people better understand how the legal system works and what roles judges, lawyers, bailiffs, juries, and witnesses play in the system.
The State Bar of Wisconsin sponsors an annual mock trial tournament for high school students from Wisconsin’s public and private schools. Teams of students are coached by volunteer attorneys and teachers and must work together to prepare their presentations from case materials prepared by members of the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Law-related Education Committee. For more information about mock trials, contact Dee Runaas, LRE coordinator.
About the Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament
 Each year, from September to February, hundreds of Wisconsin teenagers, working with their teacher and attorney coaches, research, study and prepare a hypothetical courtroom trial involving issues that are interesting and important to young people. The program begins in September when entry forms are mailed to all private and public high schools in the state.
Teams are comprised of three witnesses and three attorneys on each side of the case. You may have as many as 12 students on your mock trial team; however, only six students may participate in any given trial. Working with their coaches, the students use the case problem provided for the competition - a statement of facts, legal authorities and rules, affidavits and/or exhibits to help prepare opening statements, formulate direct and cross-examinations and closing arguments.
The cases are presented before panels of judges and attorneys where the teams are evaluated on their demonstrated knowledge and presentation skills, rather than on the legal merits of the issue at hand. Case materials are distributed to registered teams beginning in October and a training session is conducted via a statewide teleconference in early January.
"Participating in Mock Trial prepared me for college better than any other class or activity I was enrolled in during all fours years in high school," stated a recent member of the Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament.
Adding to the authenticity of the competition, teams compete in actual courtrooms across the state beginning with the regional competitions. Regional competitions occur in February across the state with the regional winners competing for the state title in March in Madison. The state winner advances to the National High School Mock Trial Championship.
Program Support
The competition, sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin is funded with donations from various organizations, attorneys and citizens throughout the state through the Wisconsin Law Foundation's designated fund. If you would like to make a donation to the mock trial program, please mail your check payable to the Wisconsin Law Foundation: Mock Trial Designated Fund to:
Wisconsin Law Foundation
Mock Trial designated Fund
5302 Eastpark Boulevard
Madison, WI 53718
All gifts are tax deductible to the extent provided by the law.
The following organizations provide support and assistance with the Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament:
The Wisconsin Law Foundation
State Bar of Wisconsin - Law-related Education Committee
Wisconsin Association of School Boards
Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Wisconsin High School Forensic Association
Young Lawyer's Division - State Bar of Wisconsin
Major Sponsors
State Bar of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Law Foundation
Major Donors
Atty. Rodney O. Kittelsen
Kittelsen, Barry, Wellington, Thompson & Schluesche
Monroe, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Inc.
Volunteer Support
Each year the State Bar of Wisconsin sponsors the statewide Mock Trial Program to help students learn more about the law, court procedures and our legal system. Participating in mock trial also provides them an opportunity to sharpen their analytical, listening and speaking skills. The program also seeks to promote better communication and cooperation between the school community and the legal profession. Teacher and attorney/coaches are encouraged to emphasize the educational rather than the competitive aspect of the tournament.
Do you enjoy working with kids? Do you have trial experience? Would you like to share your knowledge of the law and courtroom procedures with eager young minds? Then volunteer as a teacher coach, an attorney coach or judge in the annual Mock Trial Program. Hundreds of volunteers are need each year!
"The Mock Trial Program is an effective way of extending each court into its community. It has been rewarding to see the complex cases tried in a professional, skillful and dignified manner. The give and take of arguing objections is indicative that the students have not only mastered the process but can think on their feet under pressure."
Lindsey Draper, Chair, LRE Committee and 2007 Mock Trial Volunteer Attorney Coach
As preparations begin for this year's tournament, the State Bar is looking for teachers, attorneys and judges to volunteer as coaches, regional coordinators and trial judges. For more information on mock trial, please contact Dee Runaas.
 Trial by Jury: A Lawyer's Craft
For the past 18-years the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers (WATL) and the State Bar of Wisconsin have given educational demonstrations on the importance of our judicial system. The mock trial presentations have been designed to break down the public's mystique of courts, judges and lawyers while promoting a better understanding of our legal system. The trial demonstrations have been informative and entertaining to audiences over the years. For more information on mock trial, please contact Dee Runaas.
Related links
National High School Mock Trial - http://www.nationalmocktrial.org/
Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers - http://www.watl.org
| 
