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77-632: The competition was created in 2006 to provide an alternative for state champions with weekend religious obligations to compete on a national basis. The Torah Academy of Bergen County from Teaneck, New Jersey had won its state's 2005 competition, but faced difficulties in its ultimately successful effort to gain accommodations to participate in the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina without being required to compete during

154-527: A 4–1 ballot decision. This was Rhodes' eighth championship round appearance to date. 2013 also marked the first year that the National Championship Tournament had 3 scoring judges per round (instead of 2). In 2014, UCLA defeated Princeton University in a 3–2 ballot decision. With this victory, UCLA tied Rhodes for the second-highest record of championships (4 wins), behind University of Maryland, College Park (5 wins). This round

231-517: A National Tournament (silver flight) based on performance at Regionals. The two National Tournaments, which were held in March, consisted of 48 teams each, with the top 6 teams at each National earning a second-chance bid to the National Championship Tournament, which was held in April. The direct bid system was replaced by the current ORCS system in 2008. For 22 years, the National Championship Tournament

308-489: A different venue. The 2010 Championship was hosted by Rhodes College at courthouses in downtown Memphis, Tennessee , while the 2012 Championship was held in Minneapolis. Beginning in 2013, future Championships will be awarded solely on a competitive bidding process, although Des Moines, if it bids, will be given preference during "landmark" years, such as anniversaries of AMTA's founding in 1985. The 2013 Championship

385-423: A direct examination of the witness. Once the direct examination is complete, the opposing team may cross-examine the witness. After the cross-examination, if the first team chooses, they may re-direct the witness. Likewise, the other team may do a re-cross after a re-direct. However, re-direct and re-cross examinations are only limited to the scope of the previous examination conducted by opposing counsel. This process

462-714: A few isolated examples. In Germany, the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the University of Regensburg organizes the REGINA Mock Trial. The University of Erlangen-Nuremberg organizes a mock trial specialized in administrative law. In Spain, there is a mock trial program specialized in insurance law coordinated by the Fundacion INADE-UDC Chair of Risk Management and Insurance . The National Bar Mock Trial Competition involves students taking on

539-411: A free lunch), it is rare to see more than two judges in a round at most competitions. Unlike real law, the victorious team does not necessarily have to win on the merits of the case. Instead, evaluators score individual attorneys and witnesses on a 1–10 scale (though some states use different scales for high school competitions) based on each stage of the trial. These consist of the opening statements for

616-502: A group of home-schooled students representing Family Christian Academy-Tennessee (FCA) from Chattanooga, Tennessee . The 2008 AMTI winners represented David H. Hickman High School , a public high school in Columbia, Missouri . The 2009 AMTI winners were Menlo School , a college preparatory school from Atherton, California . Torah Academy of Bergen County Torah Academy of Bergen County (commonly referred to as TABC )

693-409: A minimum of six and a maximum of twelve official members. The size of state mock trial teams can vary; California, for example, allows up to 25 official team members. 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

770-572: A myriad of 2nd - 5th-place finishes backing him up. The TABC track team was undefeated in 2014–2015, 2015-2016, and 2016–2017. The team is coached by alumnus Shmuel Knoller ('13). Notably, Zachary Greenberg came in 3rd place in his age group in the Jerusalem Marathon in 2016. The school also has both a varsity and junior varsity basketball team coached by former St. John's assistant Coach Oswald Cross. The Yeshiva University Red Sarachek basketball tournament plays some of its games in

847-412: A number of international competitions. Currently some 100 schools, circa 3,000 students are involved. As of 2021, international schools started entering the programme, with over 16 countries taking part. 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

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924-423: A rematch of the 2016 final. Yale's appearance marked the first time in collegiate championship history the same school has appeared three consecutive times in the final championship round. In 2018, Miami University of Ohio defeated Yale in a 4–3 ballot decision. This was Miami's second championship, the first having been in 2001. Yale extended its record of consecutive championship round appearances to 4, having been

1001-571: A score of 5-4 in the finals to win the event. The 2007 competition took place at the New Jersey Law Center of Rutgers University at its Douglass/Cook campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey , on Wednesday, May 2, through Friday, May 4. The dates had been chosen to avoid conflicts with Saturday or Sunday religious observance, proms and Advanced Placement Program (AP) exams. The 2007 American Mock Trial Invitational winners were

1078-532: A second school called the SINAI Special Needs Institute . The program serves children of below to above average intelligence with different degrees of learning disability and a wide variety of behavioral characteristics, whose needs could not be addressed by traditional Jewish day school programs and curricula. TABC has a number of extracurricular activities, some that do well even on the international level. The school's Mock trial team

1155-513: A team's score for testifying with information outside the scope of the mock trial materials and for unsportsmanlike conduct or abuse of objections. However, scores are completely at a judge's discretion, meaning that scores are subjective based on different evaluation criteria. In the first round of the tournament, all of the teams are randomly matched to compete with each other. After the first round of some tournaments, teams are “power matched” to go up against other teams with similar records (e.g. in

1232-409: 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. The National High School Mock Trial Championship began in 1984. This first competition consisted of teams from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. The competition since has grown and now

1309-623: Is a four-year yeshiva high school located in Teaneck , in Bergen County , New Jersey , United States. The school utilizes a split-schedule day offering both Jewish studies and college preparatory secular courses. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2005. TABC is run by Rabbi Shlomo Stochel, Head of School;

1386-444: 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. 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

1463-435: Is considered to be an All-State tournament. Each year, various participating states around the country take turns hosting the tournament. There are only three teams in the tournament's history that have won the competition consecutive times: Family Christian Academy Homeschoolers from Tennessee (now CSTHEA) in the years 2002–2003, Jonesboro High School from Georgia in the years 2007–2008, and Albuquerque Academy from New Mexico in

1540-668: 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. The national competition is governed by National Mock Trial Championship, Inc. Inter-collegiate mock trial is governed by the American Mock Trial Association or AMTA. This organization

1617-508: Is kept track of by the bailiff/timekeeper, who times their co-counsel's statements, examinations, and arguments. Time is stopped for objections. A main part of mock trial is the raising and arguing of objections given by opposing teams. Objections are raised when the opposing counsel attempts to bring in evidence or testimony that go against the rules of evidence. When an objection is raised, the judge may either overrule or sustain it immediately, or ask opposing counsel for their argument about why

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1694-472: Is no national competition for this level. However, a few states offer intrastate competitions. There are a couple of different formats for competitions at this level. The first format focuses on how the cases are developed such as New Jersey Law Fair competitions. Students grades 3 to 6 are asked to generate, develop and write the case from their own idea to include details of the facts, issue, witnesses, statements, instructions, sub-issues, concepts and law. As

1771-425: Is power matched through the last round. While this determines the strongest team at the tournament overall, it does not provide an accurate representation of 2nd, 3rd, 4th place teams, etc., because they might have lost multiple ballots to a strong team who placed first. When tournaments are power protected, it means that the first rounds of competition are power matched as stated above. In the last round(s), however,

1848-468: Is repeated for the two remaining plaintiff witnesses. Once the prosecution/plaintiff have finished with their witnesses, the defense may give their opening statement if not delivered before, and then the process is repeated with the defense witnesses, having the defense attorneys direct and the plaintiff attorneys cross-examine. Once all of the witnesses have been examined, the trial moves to closing arguments. The prosecutor/plaintiff again goes first and has

1925-778: The Rosh HaYeshiva is Rabbi Joshua Kahn. Rabbi Michael Hoenig is the Mashgiach Ruchani (religious life guidance counselor). As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 327 students and 47.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 6.9:1. The school's student body was 100% White. Various Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered primarily to juniors and seniors, such as AP Biology , AP Calculus , AP English Language and Composition , AP English Literature and Composition , AP Physics , AP Psychology , AP Statistics , and AP United States History . The building hosts

2002-554: The New Hampshire Bar Association's Mock Trial Competition . However, the first round of the competition is done by video submission where each team performs in both sides of the case. The qualified teams will be invited to the live competition with each team on each side of the case. Although there is no national competition for middle/junior high school level, there are many intrastate competitions held by state/county level organizers: The mock trial program

2079-502: The "Opening Round Championship Series." 192 teams advance to the Opening Round Championship, which is held at eight different tournament sites. The top teams at each Opening Round Championship Tournament qualify for a berth in the National Championship Tournament. There are 48 total bids to the final tournament. Previously, teams could earn up to two bids to either the National Championship Tournament (gold flight) or

2156-472: The Jewish Sabbath. While this competition continues to grow, it is still significantly smaller than the more established National High School Mock Trial Championship . The inaugural event, in 2006, was held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on weekdays. Redlands High School of Redlands, California narrowly edged Middle Township High School from Middle Township, New Jersey by

2233-595: The National Championship. The University of Virginia won the championship by a single point using a tiebreaker, after a three judge panel split with one judge choosing Virginia as the winner, one choosing Harvard, and one calling the round a draw. The University of Virginia's victory ended the then-recent run by UCLA, which had won the two previous national championships. In 2007, the University of Virginia again defeated Harvard University. This marked

2310-544: 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. 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

2387-752: The TABC Storm to play a pair of exhibition basketball games in 2000 against the Knights of the Al-Ghazaly High School , a Muslim high school in the township. The varsity hockey team has won the MYHSAL championship five times (1997–1998, 2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2012-2013 and 2015–2016). The JV team has won the MYHSAL championship a record nine times (1997–1998, 2002–2003, 2008–2009, 2009–2010, 2010–2011, 2011–2012, 2012–2013, 2013–2014, 2017–2018 and 2022-2023). TABC's wrestling team had placed 3rd in

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2464-650: The TABC gym, for which they received an award in 2004. TABC also participated in Sarachek in 2012, entering the tournament as the 13th seed and finishing ranked #12 overall. In 2016, TABC again participated in the tournament, entering as the #9 seed. In the first round, TABC defeated the Rabbi Alexander S. Gross Hebrew Academy Warriors on a last second shot, but were defeated in the second round by eventual-champion DRS Wildcats 34–31. Mock trial A mock trial

2541-666: The University of Maryland, College Park. Maryland, however, had the distinction of losing to themselves in one of those two defeats. In 2008, the University of Maryland prevailed over the George Washington University in a split-ballot decision (2–1). This was Maryland's fifth title, giving them more total wins than any other university in AMTA history. In 2009, Northwood University defeated George Washington University 5–0 to claim its first national championship. In 2010, New York University defeated Harvard University 3–1–1 to win its first national championship. This

2618-400: The University of Virginia in the final trial. Yale is one of only nine schools to have competed in the final trial of the National Championship Tournament two years in a row. 2016 also marked the first year that the National Championship Tournament had 5 scoring judges per round, and 15 scoring judges in the final championship round. In 2017, Virginia defeated Yale in a 6–1 ballot decision in

2695-737: The Wittenberg Championships from 2007 to 2010. In 2009, TABC had six finalists and two champions. In 2010, TABC had three champions - Navid Ahdoot (112 lbs), Evan Friedlander (171 lbs) and Dovid Greenfield (285 lbs) - as well as several second and third place wrestlers. In 2011 TABC placed second overall with three first-place winners including Shimmy Auman, Evan Friedlander, Dovid Greenfield. In 2013, TABC won Wittenberg with three champions, and eleven total placers. TABC wrestlers Efraim Ellman, Dovid Greenfield, Navid Ahdoot, Ramin Ahdoot and Lior Shachar have been inducted into

2772-569: The Wittenberg Hall of Fame. TABC Wrestling has also continued to place well at Wittenberg even fielding smaller teams. They have wrestled at the Brick Memorial Tournament, The Randolph Wrestling Tournament, The North Bergen Wrestling Tournament, and more. 2016-2017 saw another individual first-place finish from Ben Antosofsky 19' (126 lbs), as well as more high placements. In 2017-2018 Dovid Meiseles took home 1st, with

2849-405: The charges, penal code, stipulations, case law, and jury instructions as well as all exhibits and affidavits relevant to the case. During a mock trial, competitors are restricted to only the materials provided in the case packet and may not reference any outside sources. In order to prepare for competition, teams thoroughly read and analyze the case packet. National mock trial teams consist of

2926-412: The competition. The heats were supported by approximately 600 legal volunteers, including judges, barristers and law students. 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

3003-488: The competition. The heats were supported by over 70 legal volunteers, including judges, barristers and law students. 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

3080-451: The country. On the inter-collegiate circuit, a mock trial team consists of three attorneys and three witnesses on each side of the case (plaintiff/prosecution and defense). The attorneys are responsible for delivering an opening statement, conducting direct and cross examinations of witnesses and delivering closing arguments. Witnesses are selected in a sports draft format from a pool of approximately eight to 10 available witnesses prior to

3157-405: The country. At invitationals, teams have the opportunity to test out particular case theories and improve as competitors before facing the challenge and pressure of regular season competition. The regular season begins in late January, starting with regional tournaments. There are typically more than 600 teams spread across 24 regional tournaments. Each school is limited to two post-regional bids to

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3234-435: The elementary school level, the mock trial guide by American Bar Association suggests to use role-playing from scripted mock trials such as fairy tale mock trials as a way to introduce the concept of conflicts, trials, jury verdicts in civil trials, vocabulary of the court, damages, and the roles of individuals portrayed in the trial. Therefore, most of mock trials at this level are non-competitive classroom activities. There

3311-519: The fictional state of Midlands, USA. Midlands is not geographically situated and falls under the protection of the United States Constitution. A tournament consists of four rounds, two on each side of the case, typically scored by two to three judges in each round. The season runs in two parts: the invitational season and the regular season. Invitational tournaments are held throughout the fall semester and into early spring across

3388-402: The first ever re-match of a previous year's final round. Virginia again won via a split decision, winning two of the three ballots in the final round. Virginia also became the 4th school to repeat as champions, joining UCLA, the University of Iowa, and Rhodes College, which accomplished the feat twice. Harvard University became the second program to finish as runner up in consecutive years, joining

3465-428: The information sought. 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. 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

3542-411: The judge may offer the defense to deliver the opening statement during that time as well, or to wait until after the prosecution has presented all of its witnesses. After the opening statements, examination of the witnesses begins. The prosecution/plaintiff calls their witnesses first. Witnesses are sworn in by their team's bailiff/timekeeper. A student competitor attorney for the prosecution/plaintiff does

3619-414: The judge simply votes or casts a ballot for one team or another. In yet another method of judging, there are three scoring judges and the presiding judge is not involved in the scoring of the teams. Often at college invitationals, there are two scoring judges, one of whom doubles as the presiding judge. Since enticing attorneys to judge is notoriously difficult (as judges are rarely compensated with more than

3696-578: 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. 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

3773-413: 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

3850-526: The national competition for the first time in 2021, and was crowned champion. New Jersey and North Carolina both pulled out of the NHSMTC competition following the 2005 season due to a refusal by the organization to accommodate an Orthodox Jewish team, Torah Academy of Bergen County, that had won New Jersey's state championship. Both states rejoined in 2010 after their concerns regarding accommodation had been addressed. Each state has its own case every year that

3927-531: The option to reserve time beforehand for rebuttal. After the defense finishes their closing argument, the plaintiff may give their rebuttal argument if they still have time remaining. In some competitions, the rebuttal is limited to the scope of the defense's closing argument. Time limits are set at each level of competition to prevent the trials from running too long and to keep rounds of competition running smoothly. Time limits are as follows: Time limits may vary from state-to-state competitions. Please note that time

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4004-461: The plaintiff and defense, each of the witnesses’ testimony, direct and cross-examination by attorneys, and the closing statements for both sides. The team with the highest total number of points is often, but not always, the team that wins the judge's verdict. Given this method of scoring, it is possible for the defendant to be found guilty or lose the case but for the defense team to still win the round. In some competitions, points can be deducted from

4081-505: 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

4158-423: The roles of both side in their case during the mock trial. The winners will perform their case in the real court. In North Carolina, the competition has a different format which focuses more on presentation skills. All teams are given the same case which has been written prior to the competition and students are asked to perform role-playing on the case. North Carolina Elementary School Mock Trial Competition uses

4235-431: The round. Typical draft orders are DPDPDP, PPPDDD, or DDPPPD but this may vary substantially between cases. Witnesses may be available only to the plaintiff/prosecution, only to the defense, or to both sides of the case. Witnesses consist of both experts as well as lay witnesses. Judges are usually attorneys, coaches, law school students, and in some occasions, practicing judges. All collegiate mock trial cases take place in

4312-404: The rules of power matching in order to 1. allow each team to alternate between prosecution/plaintiff and defense between rounds, 2. avoid two teams from the same school competing against each other (Maryland Rule), 3. avoid having a team compete against a team it played in a prior round. In the national championship format, which is also employed by invitationals across the country, the tournament

4389-439: The same case and is subject to the same rules. The mock trial begins with the judge entering the courtroom. The judge then gives out the instructions to the jury (about what they are to listen to). Then if there is a pretrial motion, the defense and prosecution give their respective pretrial arguments. The judge then lets the prosecution or plaintiff give an opening statement. Following the prosecution/plaintiff's opening statement,

4466-414: The second round, a 1–0 team will be matched with another 1–0 team). If there is a tie in record, the judges will use the number of ballots and total points earned to decide the matching. This allows for teams to compete with other teams of similar skill. Of course, there are practical exceptions to the theory of power matching. Tab room coordinators who are creating brackets for each round may deviate from

4543-463: The state. It follows similar rules to that of the national competition. New York has three levels of play, county competition, regional competition, and the finals, which is held in Albany, New York in May. Before 2021, the state of Maryland did not compete in the National High School Mock Trial Championship, and had their own statewide mock trial competition similar to that of New York; it did compete in

4620-408: The students at this age range may not know the details of applicable law, students are allowed to create their own law. There are no specific themes, students can choose any age-appropriate topics. The students are encouraged to do a role-playing in a mock trial based on the script that they have developed to involve other students in the classroom as juries in order to refine their case. Each team plays

4697-462: The team with the strongest record is paired against the team with the weakest record. This ensures that the best teams do not knock each other out of the running for a rank. Rather, it's anticipated that the stronger team will win and protect their chance at a rank, while there is no harm done to the weaker team who is already out of reach of a trophy. Additionally, this method gives weaker teams exposure to stronger programs that they can learn from. At

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4774-402: The team. Teams must be organized into two sides of five to six players for the prosecution/plaintiff and defense. 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

4851-425: The testimony/evidence is admissible. Time is paused for objections, so an objection "battle" could theoretically go on for hours at a time until the judge makes a ruling. There is often an over all time limit given to rounds of competition, called "all loss" that prevent this from occurring. Mock trial students receive an abridged version of rules of evidence to base their objections on in the case packet that contains

4928-408: The winning entries from New Jersey Law Fair in the prior year as the cases for students to perform. Another format is to follow the standard format similar to the high school level but with less technical restriction. All teams are given the same material related to a case and prepare for the competition. Two teams compete in a live mock trial to represent two sides of the case. This format is used in

5005-413: The witness affidavits and other elements of the court case. There are several different ways that a mock trial can be judged. In one, the judges for scoring the mock trial consist of the presiding judge and two scoring judges, all of whom score the teams. In a second method, there are two scoring judges and the presiding judge, as in the first method, but the presiding judge does not score the teams, rather

5082-753: The world in the international competition which takes place in Jerusalem on Yom HaAtzma'ut . The school also has a notable Science Olympiad Team, having won the Yeshiva League for the past 6 years, as well as College Bowl, with Junior Varsity having been undefeated since 2014. TABC has various sports teams, including baseball, softball, basketball, hockey and wrestling and some others. In an effort to build inter-community relationships in Teaneck, former Torah Academy athletic director Bobby Kaplan and then assistant principal Rabbi Tzvi Grumet, arranged for

5159-541: The years 2012–2013. The Championship rotates around through the membership organizations and has been held in Phoenix, Arizona , Albuquerque, New Mexico , Indianapolis, Indiana , Madison, Wisconsin , Raleigh, North Carolina , Boise, Idaho , Hartford, Connecticut , Reno, Nevada , Athens, Georgia , and Wilmington, Delaware . New York State does not participate in the national competition; rather, it has its own intrastate competition consisting of over 350 teams throughout

5236-607: Was Harvard's third championship round appearance in the last five years following its consecutive losses to Virginia. In 2011, UCLA defeated defending champion New York University 4–1 to claim the Bruins' third title, the third-most in the history of the American Mock Trial Association. In 2012, Duke defeated Rutgers 2–1, in what was the first championship round appearance for both squads. In 2013, Florida State University defeated Rhodes College in FSU's first championship round appearance by

5313-405: Was also Princeton's first championship round appearance. In 2015, Harvard defeated Yale in a 4-0–1 ballot decision. This marked Harvard's first championship win, despite having been the runner-up 3 times previously (in 2006, 2007, and 2010). 2015 also marked Yale's first championship round appearance. Finally, 2015 marked the first year that the case problem for the National Championship Tournament

5390-417: Was different from the case schools had been using in competition for the earlier elimination rounds. (I.e. In the past colleges had argued the same case all year long, but starting in 2015 any team that qualified for the championship tournament was given a brand new case to learn and argue in the span of just a few weeks.) In 2016, Yale won its first national championship in an 11–3–1 ballot decision, defeating

5467-735: 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. 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

5544-539: 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. Mock trial competitions in Australia are held regionally. These include: Mock trials in continental Europe are less coordinated than their UK or US counterparts, but there are

5621-635: Was held in Des Moines, Iowa , the city in which collegiate mock trial began. The tournament left Iowa for the first time in 2007 when Stetson University in St. Petersburg, Florida hosted the Championship. The 2008 National Championship Tournament was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota . Between 2009–2011, the Championship returned to Des Moines in odd-numbered years, while even-numbered years featured

5698-739: Was held in Washington, D.C. , with the University of Virginia handling hosting duties. The 2014 Championship was held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Courthouse , with the University of Central Florida serving as the host institution. The 2015 Championship was hosted by the University of Cincinnati , with trials held at the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati . The 2016 Championship

5775-550: Was hosted by Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. In 2017, the Championship tournament was hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles in the Los Angeles County Superior Court (Stanley Mosk Courthouse) in downtown LA. In 2018, the Championship was hosted by Hamline University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 2006, the University of Virginia beat Harvard University to win

5852-428: 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. 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

5929-544: Was the 2005 New Jersey State Champions and received press coverage both in the Tri-State Region as well as overseas for its efforts to gain accommodations to participate in the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina without being required to compete during the Jewish Sabbath. The school has an International Bible Contest (Chidon HaTanach) team which is coached by Rabbi Neil Winkler. In 2017, junior Shlomi Helfgot placed 4th in

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