State High School Mock Trial Championship Underway
Students from 12 high schools from around Nebraska are competing this week for a spot in the National High School Mock Trial Championship.
Named for retired District Court Judge Lyle Strom, the state tournament is broken up over three days, with two rounds each day.
The competing schools are Ainsworth High School, Bellevue West High School, Creighton Prep, Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart, Fillmore Central High School, Gering High School, Grand Island Northwest High School, Lutheran High Northeast, Ogallala High School, Perkins County Junior/Senior High School, Wayne High School and York High School.
The winners of each round move on to the championship round on Thursday.
This year’s fictional case – written by members of the Mock Trial Case Writing Committee – is a criminal case, charging manslaughter. The prosecution alleges that the deceased died after inhaling a substance from a vaping device provided by the accused. The accused has pleaded not guilty. Teams will have an opportunity to present both sides of the case during the competition.
Both the state tournament and the national championship, which had been scheduled to take place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, are being held virtually due to the surge in the omicron variant.
The Judge Lyle Strom High School Mock Trial Program is in its 36th year. Nebraska high schools have performed well in the national championship tournament. Ogallala High School in 1984 and Duchesne Academy in 2015 both earned first place.
Duchesne also finished in second place in 2016, and Creighton Prep came in second in 2019.
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