MOCK TRIAL MEMORANDUM #1

To:Superintendents, High School Principals, AP Social Studies,

All Mock Trial Coaches

From: Debra Lesser/Deborah Wollenberg

JusticeResourceCenter

Date: September15, 2017

Re:New York State Mock Trial Tournament: 2017-2018

The New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Law, Youth and Citizenship Education and the New York State Bar Foundation, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Education and the Justice Resource Center, is pleased to announce the thirty-fifth New York City Mock Trial Tournament. The Law, Youth and Citizenship Program, a joint program of the New York State Bar Association and the New York State Education Department, provides overall coordination. The New York City competition will be coordinated at the Justice Resource Center (JRC) located within Martin Luther King, Jr. High School.

School Eligibility and Responsibilities

Senior high schools in New York City that wish to participate in the contest may enter one team of at least eight students, headed by one or more teacher-coaches. Additional students can participate by serving as alternates and resource support for the school team.However, for official purposes, a team can consist of no more than twelve members. Selection of team members, alternates, and coaches is the responsibility of the school. Transportation to and from thecontest sites is the responsibility of the school. Each team entered in the Mock Trial Competition is expected to conduct several practice sessions prior to the contest.

Note: Junior high school students arenot eligible for this year’s tournament.

Contest Format / Schedule

In order to accommodate the statewide tournament schedule, the New York City competition will begin late February 2018. The citywide finals are scheduled for early May and the NYS finals will be held in Albany on May 13-15, 2018(Sunday-Tuesday).Sunday is the travel day.

The Mock Trial winner at each level of the competition is required to participate at the nextlevelof the tournament (i.e., the local winner participates at the regional level; the regional winner participates at the statewide level). The New York State Bar Foundation will only pay for 9 students per team to participate in the State finals in Albany in May. The JRC will assist schools with fundraising.

As in the past, the Mock Trial tournament will consist of a preliminary two-round competition. After each team has competed in two rounds, the top teams will be matched against each other in elimination rounds until a regional winner emerges.Two NYC schools will be allowed to compete at the NYS competition.

Lawyers or trial judges will preside over each contest round. We are currently evaluating which courthouses in New York City will be most suitable for the regional matches.

Orientation meeting for TEACHER COACHES

The Justice Resource Centerwill sponsor an orientation session for teacher-coaches. This meeting will be held onMonday,December 4, 2017from 11:45am. -2:30pm.Teachers will need to stay until2:30 PM.Attendance will be taken. Teachers who do not make prior written requests to leave earlier will not be able to sign up their teams. It is imperative that all teachers stay to ensure that everyone knows the rules. Materials will be distributed and coaches will receive a briefing on rules and procedures.We will send correspondence withthe location of the orientation afterwe receive the registration form and payment. (If payment will be after the orientation session, please let us know immediately.)

Mock Trial Materials

Each school entering the tournament will receive two packets of case-related materials containing the following information:

  1. A statement of the facts of the case
  2. A set of witness statements
  3. A discussion of rules of evidence and legal sources
  4. Adescription of tournament rules, policies and procedures which will govern the tournament.

This material as well as other related materials can be found at

The case will be accessible after all counties have their orientation sessions.

Bar Association Assistance

An attorney from the New York Bar, experienced in the conduct of mock trials, will be assigned to each participating team upon request. The attorney will be available to assist both the teacher-coaches and team members.

The JRC will encourage MENTOR Lawyers from the MENTOR Law Firm/School Partnership to serve as coaches.

Awards

Members of each participating team will receive a certificate acknowledging their involvement in this year’s tournament. The JRC is the only sponsor. The JRC will provide the following:

  • An awards ceremony program for all schools
  • Special achievement certificates for each member of the winning team
  • Commemorative plaques for the first and second place schools
  • Outstanding Achievement Awards for schools that compete in the Finals in Albany

Payment for Coaches

No separate allocation will be given for this program to each school. As was the case in past years, individual schools will have to schedule per-session/overtime hours at their discretion.

Payment

All schools are required to pay a nominal $750.00 to participate. All public schoolsthat have purchased the JRC sustaining package do not pay the registration fee. JRC sustaining package includes the Mock Trial registration fee.Public schools may purchase Mock Trial through the Famisportal (instructions included in link) or can choose to send a check to the address below.For private and parochial schools, please send check to the Justice Resource Center Inc.

All payments are due by November 27, 2017.If you need more time for payment, please let JRC know in advance.

Entry Deadline

An entry form is attached. Please PRINT clearly. Completed applications must be received no later thanNovember 16, 2017.We need the application in order to have your packet ready at the orientation.

Return completed applications by mail or faxor emailto:

Debra Lesser or Deborah Wollenberg

JusticeResourceCenter

122 Amsterdam Avenue, Room 504A
New York, NY 10023

Telephone Number: (212) 580-5905

Fax Number: (212) 580-5918

Email:

If you have any questions, please call Debra Lesser at (212) 580-5905.

Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to working with you on this special law-related education project.

OTHER

The NYSBA will sponsor a Mock Trial Summer Institute (Camp) for students. Further information provided at orientation.

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