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About the Competition
We are excited to announce that we will be holding our 25th Anniversary National Championship in Wilmington, Delaware, in 2008 !!
The national mock trial championship was initiated in 1984 in Des Moines, Iowa, with teams from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin participating. After the success of the tournament in Iowa, more states became interested in participating and the tournament became billed as an "All-State" Tournament.
The competition then moved to Lincoln, Nebraska (1985) and involved 10 states. Subsequent tournaments have been held in Phoenix, Arizona (1986); Washington, D.C. (1987); Dallas, Texas (1988); Louisville, Kentucky (1989) - the first "National High School Mock Trial Championship"; Portland, Oregon (1990); New Orleans, Louisiana (1991); Madison, Wisconsin (1992); Atlanta, Georgia (1993); Chicago, Illinois (1994); Denver, Colorado (1995); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1996); Nashville, Tennessee (1997); Albuquerque, New Mexico (1998); St. Louis, Missouri (1999); Columbia, South Carolina (2000); Omaha, Nebraska (2001); St. Paul, Minnesota (2002); New Orleans, Louisiana (2003); Orlando, Florida (2004); Charlotte, North Carolina (2005); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (2006); and Dallas, Texas (2007). The tournament is hosted annually by different states to ensure that the cost of running the tournament doesn't fall disproportionately on any particular state.
Last year's competition in Dallas included 40 teams from the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands, and South Korea. The National Championship competition this year will be held in Wilmington, Delaware (2008) ; in Atlanta, Georgia (2009); and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2010).
Atlanta, Georgia Tournament Update (2009)
The Georgia High School Mock Trial Committee, which is a project of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, is gearing up to host the National Tournament in Atlanta in 2009. We’re looking forward to welcoming state champion teams to our capitol city next spring. Already we have volunteer forms posted to our state website (www.georgiamocktrial.org) under the National Championship tab from our main page. We need both attorney and non-attorney volunteers for the tournament weekend. In addition to exciting competition rounds, Atlanta offers tournament participants exceptional dining, shopping and site-seeing opportunities. Be sure to join us next spring for warm weather, Southern hospitality and an outstanding educational experience!
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tournament Update (2010)
The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), host of the 2010 National Mock Trials which will be held in Philadelphia May 6-8, 2010, reports growing excitement across the Keystone state for the upcoming event. Under the leadership of PBA President Andy Susko and former mock trialer and now Bedford County District Attorney and PBA Young Lawyers Chair Bill Higgins, and with the support of Pennsylvania First Lady and Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Midge Rendell who chairs the Honorary Advisory Committee, the PBA is moving forward in making all of the preparations necessary to throw a wonderful mock trial party in the City of Brotherly Love (and sisterly affection) in 2010. The PBA is proud to have Drexel University as its partner in the statewide mock trial program and as the leadership sponsor of the 2010 National Mock Trial Competition.
An original (and very popular) DVD is available from the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia. It can
serve as an excellent resource for any school, coach, or attorney-coach in developing a program and for use in team training. The teaching
film is approximately 60 minutes long and will take teams step-by-step through a mock trial. The DVD is also suitable for use in a law-related
class. It features interviews with students, teacher, attorney coaches and supporters of the mock trial competition in Georgia, and trial footage.
Order form for "May It Please the Court" Mock Trial Video (DVD)(82 kb)
Click here for AP Exam scheduling information for 2008 and 2009.