A mock trial (sometimes synonymous with moot court, although the activities are often different) is a contrived or imitation trial. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers to test theories or experiment with each other. In a mock trial the rules are often abbreviated in order to focus on particular parts of the trial.

Mock trial is also the name of an extracurricular program in which students participate in contrived or fake trials to learn new skills and compete with each other. At some law schools, the term trial advocacy is used for the program. Various organizations such as state bar associations sponsor mock trial/trial advocacy competitions for middle school students, high school students, college students, and law students.

Interscholastic mock trials takes place on three levels. High school competitive mock trial has an annual national competition governed by the National Mock Trial Association The competition on the college circuit is governed by the American Mock Trial Association ^*." target="_blank" > Finally, there is mock trial/trial advocacy at the Law School level such as the National Trial Competition hosted by the Texas Young Lawyers Association [http://www.tyla.org/advocacy_ntc.html. At this level, unlike the two previous levels, students compete not only for awards, but also for prestige that leads to high paying jobs.

College Mock Trial

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 the round. Typical draft orders are PDPDPD or PPDDPD. Judges are usually attorneys or coaches, and in some occasions, practicing judges. A tournament consists of four rounds, two on each side of the case, scored by two 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 the country. Some of the premiere invitationals include the University of Virginia Great American Mock Trial Invitational, the Rhodes College Blues City Challenge, the UCLA Invitational and the Columbia University Big Apple Invitational Tournament.

The regular season begins in late January, starting with regional tournaments. Regionals are held across the country in various locations as qualifiers for the National Championship Tournament. Teams at each school may earn up to two bids to either the National Championship Tournament (gold flight) or a National Tournament (silver flight). The two National Tournaments, held in March, consist of 48 teams each, with the top 6 teams at each National earning a second-chance bid to the National Championship Tournament in Des Moines, which is held in April.

On April 9, 2006, the University of Virginia beat Harvard University to win the National Championship. In what was the closest final round in AMTA history, 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 recent run by UCLA, who had won the two previous national championships.

The following is the list of winners of the National Championship Tournament, as well as the runners-up:

National Championship Round Participants

High School Mock Trial

In different states, the High School Mock Trial program is varied. In some, there are four witnesses, four attorneys (one serving as a pretrial lawyer to argue whether certain evidence should be admitted), and a clerk for the prosecution and a bailiff for the defense on each side. The trial is timed and each side has a certain set amount of time for the opening and closing statements and for direct, cross, and redirect examinations, kept track by the clerk. The bailiff swears in each witness as they take the stand.

In other states, there are three witnesses and from two to six attorneys. There is a judge who ranks each team member on a scale from 1-10, as well as two other people who serve as the jury and also rank each team member. Usually, one member of the jury is a community volunteer, and the other is either a law student or lawyer. Each team has a team coach (normally a lawyer in the area) and a faculty member from their high school. Both opening statements and closing arguments are timed. Direct and cross examinations are also timed, but objections are not. Some trials are recorded for later use by both teams.

Each year, the best Mock Trial teams compete within their own states, with the state champions advancing to the National Mock Trial Tournament. The tournament features representatives from many states and is usually held in May.

In 1998, a team from Cherry Hill High School East in New Jersey beat a team from Agat, Guam in the finals after four matches against teams from Florida, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Law School Mock Trial

In interscholastic mock trial/trial advocacy at a law school level, teams typically consist of several "attorneys" and several "witnesses" on each side. Every team in a tournament is given the same "problem" or "case" several months in advance, and they prepare to try the case from either side. The cases are carefully written in an attempt to create an equal chance of either side prevailing, since the main objective is not to identify the winner of the case, but rather the team with superior advocacy skills. Occasionally the winners of mock trial tournaments receive special awards such as money or invitations to special events, but the status of winning a tournament is significant in and of itself.

Practicing litigators may use mock trials to assist with trial preparation and settlement negotiations. Unlike scholastic mock trials, these mock trials can take numerous forms depending on the information sought. Various organizations can provide additional information for litigation support mock trials, including the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Advance Insight, ^*

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