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Mock trial

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Court show or Show trial.
"Mock Trial" redirects here. For the 1910 card game, see Mock Trial (card game).
Mock trials allow researchers to examine confirmation biases in a realistic setting.

A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings.[1] Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or experiment with each other. Mock trial is also the name of an extracurricular program in which students participate in rehearsed trials to learn about the legal system in a competitive manner. Interscholastic mock trials take place on all levels including primary school, middle school, high school, college, and law school. Mock trial is often taught in conjunction with a course in trial advocacy or takes place as an after school enrichment activity. Some gifted and talented programs may also take place in one.

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Litigators may use mock trials to assist with trial preparation and settlement negotiations of actual cases. Unlike school-related mock trials, these mock trials can take numerous forms depending on the information sought.[2] For example, when faced with complex fact issues in a particular case, attorneys might convene a mini mock trial to try different methods of presenting their evidence, sometimes before a jury.

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Asia Pacific

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Guam has been hosting the annual Asia-Pacific Invitational Mock Trial Competition. In 2011 and 2012, there were 14 teams from Guam, South Korea, and Saipan in its 4th annual competition. The competition was held at the Superior Court of Guam. The teams made up of mostly junior and senior students from high schools. The Champion of the 4th Annual Asia-Pacific Invitational Mock Trial Competition was Marianas Baptist Academy of Saipan.[3]

Australia

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Mock trial competitions in Australia are held regionally. These include:

  • The Law Society of South Australia Mock Trial Competition comprises a series of simulated court cases by students years 10, 11 and 12 from 32 schools in South Australia.[4]
  • The Law Society of Western Australia Interschool Mock Trial Competition is held each year for students enrolled in years 10, 11 and 12 in Western Australia. There were 773 students representing 68 teams from 38 schools participated in 2011.[5]
  • The Capital Region Mock Trial Competition is organized by University of Canberra. There were teams of schools in Australian Capital Territory region with year 10, 11 and 12 students.
  • The New South Wales Mock Trial Competition has been running since 1981 for students years 10 and 11 in New South Wales initially with 28 schools. There have also been international events with mock trial competitions between Australia and the United Kingdom. In 2008, schools from this region also traveled to New York City to compete in the Empire Mock Trial Competition. The first Asia-Australia mock trial competition via video conference between Australian teams and a Korean team was held in 2009.[6][7]

Continental Europe

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Mock trials in continental Europe are less coordinated than their UK or US counterparts, but there are a few isolated examples. In Germany, the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the University of Regensburg organizes the REGINA Mock Trial.[8] The University of Erlangen-Nuremberg organizes a mock trial specialized in administrative law.[9] In Spain, there is a mock trial program specialized in insurance law coordinated by the Fundacion INADE-UDC Chair of Risk Management and Insurance.[10]

United Kingdom

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The National Bar Mock Trial Competition involves students taking on the roles of barristers and witnesses and presenting their case against teams from other schools. Young Citizens, in association with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service and the Bar Council, has been running Mock Trial Competitions annually since 1991. The competition consists of several regional heats and a national final to decide the winner. In 2022/23, 938 students aged between 15 – 18 years old from 144 schools participated in the competition. The heats were supported by over 70 legal volunteers, including judges, barristers and law students.[11]

The Magistrates Mock Trial Competition, organised by Young Citizens in association with the Magistrates Association, involves students taking on the roles of magistrates and witnesses. In 2022/2023, approximately 2,900 students aged between 12 – 14 years from 193 schools participated in the competition. The heats were supported by approximately 600 legal volunteers, including judges, barristers and law students.[11]

Mock Trials are primarily aimed at promoting confidence in public speaking as well as introducing young people to the justice system and legal profession.

In Scotland, The School Mock Court Case Project runs both primary and secondary school competitions, although has undertaken a number of international competitions. Currently some 100 schools, circa 3,000 students are involved.[12][13][14] As of 2021, international schools started entering the programme, with over 16 countries taking part.

United States

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Competition framework

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Competitive mock trial functions in yearly cycles. Each year, a case packet is distributed to all participating schools in late summer to early fall. The case packet is a series of documents including the charges, penal code, stipulations, case law, and jury instructions as well as all exhibits and affidavits relevant to the case.

National mock trial teams consist of a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve official members.[15] The size of state mock trial teams can vary; California, for example, allows up to 25 official team members.[16] Each team prepares both sides of the case: prosecution and defense in a criminal trial, plaintiff and defense in a civil action. Each side is composed of two or three attorneys as well as two or three witnesses, all played by members of the team. Teams must be organized into two sides of five to six players for the prosecution/plaintiff and defense.[17][18] It is important to note that high school mock trial is governed by state bar associations, meaning that cases, rules, and competition structure vary from state to state whereas all of college mock trial is governed by the American Mock Trial Association, meaning that every school uses the same case and is subject to the same rules.

High school
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The mock trial program was started to allow high school students to experience a courtroom setting in a variety of hands-on roles. The mock trials are set up and structured just like a real court and are bound by the same rules.[19] This can help the students to know exactly what role each of the different people in a court (judges, lawyers, witnesses, etc.) do in the judicial system. High school competitions are even held in functional courtrooms in the local City Hall to lend additional authenticity to the trial, are presided over by real judges, and the competing teams are typically coached and scored by practicing attorneys. Cases typically have to do with problems faced by teens, and includes competitors as witnesses. Each year the case for pre-Nationals competitions alternates between a Civil case and a Criminal case. The cases are set up in such a way that the witnesses, defendant, and prosecution (or plaintiff, for a Civil case) are all given gender neutral names to prevent gender based arguments from being brought up in the final arguments.

A high school mock trial team in Illinois

The National High School Mock Trial Championship began in 1984.[17] Each year, various participating states around the country take turns hosting the tournament.

Each state has its own case every year that is different from the national case. This means that the winners of each state competition, who move on to nationals, must study and prepare a completely different case in time for the National High School Mock Trial Championship in May.[20] The national competition is governed by National Mock Trial Championship, Inc.[21]

College
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Inter-collegiate mock trial is governed by the American Mock Trial Association or AMTA.[22] This organization was founded in 1985 by Richard Calkins, the dean of the Drake University Law School. AMTA sponsors regional and national-level competitions, writes and distributes case packets and rules, and keeps a registry of mock trial competitors and alumni.[23] The case packet is generally written and distributed prior to the scholastic year in August, and case changes are made throughout the season, usually in September, December, and finally in February after Regional competitions and prior to the Opening Round of Championships. Since 2015, AMTA has released a new case to be used for the National Championship following the completion of the Opening Round of Championships.[24] Approximately 700 teams from over 400 universities and colleges will compete in AMTA tournaments. In total, AMTA provides a forum for over 7,300 undergraduate students each academic year to engage in intercollegiate mock trial competitions across the country.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Court, Moot Court, Mock Court and Mock Trial Archived 2016-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Available at Learning the Law.
  2. ^ "scholastic mock trials". Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
  3. ^ "MBA is Asia-Pacific invitational mock trial competition champion". Saipan Tribune. 12 November 2012. Archived from the original on 26 May 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  4. ^ "Mock Trial Competition". The Law Society of South Australia. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Mock Trials Competition". The Law Society of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 1 November 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  6. ^ "Mock Trial Competition". The Law Society of New South Wales. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ^ Thomson, Jodie (10 January 2009). "First Asia-Australia mock trial". The National Legal Eagle. 15 (2): 18. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  8. ^ "REGINA Mock Trial: Der Gerichtssimulator" (PDF). University of Regensburg. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Mock Trial im Verwaltungsprozessrecht". Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft. Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Veredicto Ejemplar". Cátedra Fundación INADE-UDC. February 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  11. ^ a b "Bar National Mock Trial Competition". Citizenship Foundation. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  12. ^ "School Mock Court Project- Background". School Mock Court Case Project SCIO. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  13. ^ "Schools mock court project seeks legal tutors". Scottish Legal News. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  14. ^ McKenzie, Grant (2018-03-19). "Dundee High School pupils win national mock trial competition". Evening Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2019-04-13.
  15. ^ "American Mock Trial Association Rulebook, Page 16" (PDF). Retrieved 2013-06-14.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "California Mock Trial Program Team Rulebook 2014-2015" (PDF). Constitutional Rights Foundation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  17. ^ a b "National High School Mock Trial Championship". Nationalmocktrial.org. 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  18. ^ "NYSBA Mock Trial".
  19. ^ "Mock Trial Education". Legalexplorer.com. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  20. ^ "Law-related Education: Mock Trial main". Legalexplorer.com. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  21. ^ "National High School Mock Trial Championship, Inc". Nationalmocktrial.org. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  22. ^ "American Mock Trial Association". Collegemocktrial.org. Retrieved 2012-04-21.
  23. ^ Cooke, Jason. "American Mock Trial Association". Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
  24. ^ "Case Materials Access".
  25. ^ "History of AMTA". American Mock Trial Association. Retrieved 2022-09-18.
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