MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Amanda Tonkin at (561) 315-2029
Knoxville Bar Association Barristers announce High School Mock Trial Competition
KNOXVILLE, TN January 15, 2019 - The Barrister’s, the Young Lawyer’s Division of the Knoxville Bar Association, annually hosts the Regional High School Mock Trial Competition for Districts 2, 3, and 4* every February. With high school budget cuts around the country increasing, and available funding for civic engagement decreasing, Mock Trial is an excellent way for High School students in the aforementioned districts to develop a fuller understanding of our justice system and experience the legal process first hand. Many students have been known to choose a legal career based on their mock trial experiences; several Barrister’s members are formal mock trial competitors.
During the Regional High School Mock Trial competition, students will act as lawyers and witnesses, as both the prosecution and the defense, and act out a mock trial. This years’ case is a murder case, in which the victim’s former roommate and best friend stands trial for murder in the second degree.
This year’s Knoxville Regional competition will take place at the Knoxville City County Building on February 22nd and February 23rd. The final round will take place on February 24th at the Duncan School of Law at LMU.
The specific times are as follows:
ROUND ONE - Friday February 22nd, 5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. ROUND TWO - Saturday February 23rd, 8:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. ROUND THREE – Saturday, February 23rd, 10:30 a.m. - 1p.m. ROUND FOUR - Saturday, February 23rd , 1:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. FINAL ROUND - Sunday February 24th [TBD]
The winners of the competition will advance to the State-wide tournament in Nashville March 22-23.
The dedicated volunteers, including East Tennessee law school students, attorneys, and judges, will serve as the bailiffs, scoring judges, and presiding judges over this annual competition. The competition is free to students to enter; coaches simply need to fill out the rosters and coordinating forms and submit them to knoxhsmt@gmail.com.
Participation in this wonderful program is not as high as it once was, and as young lawyers, we want to do everything we can to get the word out about this unique, beneficial, and all around fun opportunity for our East Tennessee high school students.
*Districts include:
District 2: Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Fentress, Grainger, Jefferson, Scott, Sevier and Union
District 3: Knox
District 4: Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea and Roane
For more information about the Barristers, please contact Barristers President Mikel Towe at (865) 546-4646 or Marsha S. Watson, Executive Director of the Knoxville Bar Association at (865) 522-6522.
