Registration is now open for the 2013 Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament.

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

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. MCCE is pleased to announce that this year’s competition will include a new regional tournament at the Washtenaw County Courthouse.

Regional competitions will take place on the following dates:

March 2, 2013-Ann Arbor Regional and Grand Rapids Regional
March 9, 2013- Pontiac Regional

The top 10 teams will compete in the State Finals on March 23, 2013, in Lansing.

The state champions will be eligible to compete in the National Mock Trial Championship in Indianapolis, IN, May 9-13, 2013.

Interested schools can register for the Tournament at www.miciviced.org/mock-trial/tournament-registration

Mor information about the Michigan High School Mock Trial Tournament is available at www.miciviced.org/mock-trial/2013-mhsmtt-tournament.

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