2013 Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament

Presented with the Michigan Center for Civic Education

March 2, 2013—Regional Tournaments, Ann Arbor & Grand Rapids
March 9, 2013—Regional Tournament, Pontiac
March 23, 2013—State Finals, Lansing
May 9-13, 2013—National Mock Trial Championship, Indianapolis, Ind.

Attorney Volunteers Needed

Volunteer attorneys are needed to serve as judges and bailiffs for the March 23 state finals. The Tournament requires 180 volunteer judges and bailiff/timekeepers. Volunteer Online

This year"s case is a civil case surrounding the alleged defamation of a mock-trial participant.

The plaintiff, a member of an up-and-coming high-school mock-trial team, alleges that the defendant, a rival school, made defamatory statements about the plaintiff in the defendant"s online newspaper. In the article, the deputy student editor of the school"s magazine alleged that the plaintiff appeared to be texting his coach during the final round of the competition. According to the article, the plaintiff"s closing argument was unusually effective, and a review of the score sheets shows that the closing argument made the difference. The defendant has denied the allegations and is asserting that the newspaper article is true. As a result of the claimed cheating, the plaintiff lost her scholarship with a prestigious university.