Civics and social science Debate and speech

National High School Mock Trial Championship

Argue a full fictional case as attorneys and witnesses in a real courtroom, judged by real judges.

Run by National High School Mock Trial Championship

Official website How to prepare Reviews and tips

Eligible grades: High school
The national body does not publish a numbered grade range; state programmes set their own detailed eligibility.
Source, checked 2026-09-02
Eligible ages: Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.
No age limits published.
Individual or team: Team · Not confirmed
Where it runs: In person · United States
Entry cost: Two separate charges. Each state, territory or country must pay a $200 membership fee, due by 15 January, to be eligible to send a team. On top of that, a team pays a $500 tournament registration fee. Both are required for participation.These are the national fees. State-level entry fees, case materials and travel to the national championship are separate and are usually the larger cost. State registration deadlines are much earlier: Tennessee's 2027 deadline, for example, is 22 January 2027.
Registration deadline: The $200 jurisdiction membership fee is due by 15 January. State and district registration deadlines are set by each state programme and fall much earlier in the school year. 82 days leftEvery state runs its own programme with its own deadlines and case materials. Find your state organisation through the national site.
Competition dates: The 2027 National High School Mock Trial Championship is 13 to 15 May 2027 in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. The 2028 championship is 4 to 6 May 2028 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The 2027 competition website was not yet live at the time of checking.
Difficulty: CompetitiveSerious preparation over a season. Advancing past the first round separates prepared students from unprepared ones.
Prizes: National championship title and individual advocacy awardsNational championship title plus outstanding attorney and witness awards; no cash prize schedule found on the pages checked.

What National High School Mock Trial Championship is

Mock trial teams argue a fictional case released each year, taking the roles of attorneys and witnesses for both prosecution and defence, or plaintiff and defendant. Trials are held in real courtrooms and scored by practising attorneys and judges on the quality of advocacy, examination technique and witness performance. Each state runs its own championship, and state champions compete at the national championship.

How the competition works

A team prepares both sides of the same case, since you do not know which side you will argue until shortly before each round. Students play attorneys (delivering opening statements, direct and cross examinations, and closings) and witnesses (who must stay in character and within the sworn affidavit). Scoring is on advocacy quality rather than who wins the case. State champions advance to nationals.

Eligibility notes

Teams register through their state mock trial organisation, whose rules and case materials govern until the national level.

How to register

Find your state mock trial organisation through the national site. Everything below nationals runs at state level.
Join or start a team at your school. A teacher sponsor is required and a volunteer attorney coach is close to essential.
Get the year's case materials from your state organisation and prepare both sides.
Compete in your state tournament. State champions advance to nationals.

What skills you need

How to prepare

Mock trial is won on cross examination and on witness discipline. Teams that memorise a script collapse the moment an objection lands or a witness answers differently than expected. The strongest teams know the case file so well that they can improvise inside it, and they practise with real attorneys asking real objections.

What to study

The case file: Affidavits, exhibits and stipulations. Every fact you may use lives in here, and witnesses are bound by their affidavit. Knowing it better than your opponent is the underlying advantage.
Rules of evidence: The simplified rules used in mock trial: hearsay, relevance, foundation, leading questions, speculation. Objections are scored and misused objections cost points.
Cross examination: Short leading questions that make one point each. The most common failure is asking an open question and letting a witness explain.
Witness work: Witnesses must stay in character and within the affidavit. Inventing facts, called going outside the record, is penalised and is a common way to lose points.
Theory of the case: A one-sentence story that every question and argument supports. Teams without one deliver technically correct trials that persuade nobody.

Full preparation guide, including a week-by-week plan

Recommended resources

National High School Mock Trial Championship Official · free
State organisation directory, national rules and championship information.
Federal Rules of Evidence Reference · free
Free full text. Mock trial uses a simplified version, but reading the real rules deepens understanding of why objections work.
Oyez Research · free
Free Supreme Court archive with oral argument audio. Listening to real advocates is excellent training for pacing and composure.

Past problems and materials

Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.

Past case materials
Past national case files are published and are useful practice material even outside your state's current case.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to want to be a lawyer?

No, and most participants do not become lawyers. The transferable skills are questioning technique, composure under pressure and structuring an argument, which apply far beyond law.

How do I find my state's programme?

Through the national site's state directory. Everything below the national championship, including case materials, rules and deadlines, is run by your state organisation, so that is where to start.

Reviews, tips and resources from other students

Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.

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Something out of date?

If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.

Verification

Not yet re-checked 2026-08-29

The trial format, both-sides preparation requirement, scoring on advocacy and the state-to-national structure follow the championship's published description. State registration fees, deadlines, case materials and the national championship host city vary by year and were not confirmed during the last check. Confirm with your state organisation.

Not confirmed for this cycle: Who can enter, Registration deadline, Competition dates, Entry cost, Individual or team, Prizes, How to register. Check these on the official site.

Source: the organiser's own site. No individual fact on this page has been re-checked against it for the current cycle.

Cycle checked: 2027

Looked for and not found: ages, format, prizes, team. These are shown as not confirmed rather than estimated.

Rules and dates change. Confirm everything on the official site before you rely on it.

At a glance

CategoryCivics and social science
Grades9 to 12
CostTwo separate charges. Each state, territory or country must pay a $200 membership fee, due by 15 January, to be eligible to send a team. On top of that, a team pays a $500 tournament registration fee. Both are required for participation.
FormatTeam
LocationIn person
Difficulty3 of 5
Top prize$2,000

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