Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament Registration is Open

Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament Registration is open for the 2012 Season.This year’s case is a criminal case surrounding the death of a famous musician. Was it murder, suicide, or something else … Martin Louis Siriusz was found slumped over his piano listening to a playback of his latest (and as it turned out, his last) recording, entitled “Hanging at Death’s Door.”

The people of the State of New Michigan have charged Thomas “Duke” Osiski,Siriusz’s former bandmate,with murder. The people allege that Osiski was furious over Siriusz’s eleventh-hour decision to cancel a reunion tour that would have provided Osiski with much needed financial relief. Osiski denies shooting hislong-time friend, contending that he went to the recording studio in an attempt to persuade Siriusz to reconsider his decision, but when he entered the room, he found Siriusz slumped forward on the piano with the “Death’s Door” soundtrack still playing. Seeing a bottle of alcohol and an open bottle of pills on the piano, Osiski assumed that Siriusz had accidentally OD’d. Feeling no pulse, Osiski ran out of the studio and out to the back patio, where he saw Siriusz’s 23-year-old son standing naked in the shallow end of the pool cleaning off with a bar of soap.

The MHSMTT has been organized and conducted by the Michigan Center for Civic Education since 1982. Teams of 6-10 students present arguments before panels of three judges per courtroom. One judge presides over the trial, while the others serve as the jury. Regional Tournaments will be held on March 10, 2012 in Grand Rapids and Pontiac; the State finals will be held on March 24. Interested schools can register for the Tournament here.