Education Service Center (ESC) Region 12 in collaboration with the Waco and McLennan County Young Lawyers Association sponsors the Region 12 High School Mock Trial Competition. The competition calls for teams of six to ten students to both prosecute and defend a case assigned to them by the National High School Mock Trial Committee. The students are given the trial information spend several months preparing their arguments for the trial. Local attorneys often volunteer their time to help the teams learn the court system and wiill also serve as judges at the competition. The attorneys perform a mini mock-trial for the students to determine the competition brackets.

The competitors are judged on direct examination, cross examination, and witness presentation for both the prosecution and defense. Winners have the opportunity to compete for scholarship money at the state competition. The winning teams at the state level progress to the national competition.

To learn more about Texas High School Mock Trial Competition, visit http://www.dallasbar.org/thsmtc/. To learn more about the National High School Mock Trial Championship, visit http://www.nationalmocktrial.org/.

Regional Award Winners:

• 2007-2008
• 2005-2006
• 2004-2005
• 2003-2004