TRIAL RUN ENGAGING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ATTORNEYS

By Shaina Zuppke, Esq. jimjett.com

THE HIGH SCHOOL MOCK TRIAL is a time-honored tradition for the School District of Lee County and the Lee County Bar Association. It is a way for students to begin developing their interest in the legal field, which may turn into a future career as an attorney. The School Board Attorneys from the School District of Lee County, Lee County Legal Aid, Light Path Law firm, and the Lee County Bar Association will be organizing this year’s County and Circuit Competition to take place in February 2023.

The Florida State High School Mock Trial program was established in 1991. This competition has grown to include teams from all twenty Florida Circuits. The competition starts at the county level, with teams from the local area schools. Lee County has private, charter and public schools that participate in the competition each year.

Six teams will be participating in this year’s event. The teams will compete at the county level, and one team will emerge as the winner and will go on to the Circuit Competition Level. This year, Lee County will be hosting the Circuit Competition, as it is their turn in the annual rotation with Charlotte and Collier. At the Circuit Court Competition, the top-scoring team will proceed to the State Championship.

Florida Southern College, through the Justice Teaching Center, creates a new set of facts and case materials each year. This year’s trial is a criminal case involving a second-degree murder. The students must use the details and the rules of evidence that are listed and prepare for trial as both the State Prosecution and Defense. The same set of facts and rules will allow the competition to be uniform to allow the judges to score the students and teams fairly.

Students will utilize critical thinking skills, legal reasoning and analysis as they prepare for the annual competition. The students will be scored on their opening and closing statements, direct and cross-examination of witnesses, and the overall presentation of the case. Students will also learn the structure and function of the courts and the legal process. The students will have a teacher/school coach that assists the team with organizing the case materials and practices. Many of the teams will also have an attorney volunteer to coach and assist with their courtroom presentation and style. Attorney coaches will provide feedback on techniques to approach cases and develop strategies.

Many of our local judges, magistrates and attorneys volunteer as Scoring and Presiding Judges. There will be up to 50 attorney volunteers at this year’s County and Circuit Competition. The Presiding Judge will moderate the case, rule on objections, case challenges and disputes, and score on the final outcome of the case. The Scoring Judges will rate the opening and closing statements, attorney presentation, direct and cross-examination of witnesses, and the overall case.

The two top scoring teams will compete in the championship round, where the team with the most points will participate at the next level of competition. These amazing students have perfected their cases and could easily be considered future colleagues. The High School Mock Trial competition is one of the best ways to engage our next generation of attorneys.

Save The Date

The Lee County Bar Association is excited to be hosting the High School Mock Trial competition for both the County and the Circuit. The County Competition is being held on Friday, February 3 and Saturday, February 4, 2023, while this year’s Circuit Competition is being held on Friday, February 10, 2023.

LCBA has six teams competing in the County competition this year! If you have general questions about these events, please reach out to Shaina Zuppke at Shainaz@leeschools.net or Lauren Baugh at LBaugh@LeeBar.org

Shaina J. Zuppke, Esq. is an assistant School Board attorney for the School District of Lee County, Florida. Her focus is business services and operations for the School District. She has been the co-chair for LBCA High School Mock Trial Competition, assisting with the coordination and organization of the yearly event for the past 6 years.

By Kathy Becker, Associate Editor