Joplin High School Mock Trial Team members will compete in the 2023 Missouri State Championship later this month in Kansas City, Missouri. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.
Starting in August of the academic year, team members participate in researching and writing from a fact pattern, creating and practicing courtroom opening and closing statements, engaging in witness examination and cross-examinations, and admitting and objecting to proposed evidence in preparation for competition.
The students learn to use Federal Court Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the Federal Rules of Evidence during their rehearsal. Team members work at least one hour each school day from early August until second-semester competitions begin.
Staff at the Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin recently allowed the team to access one of the new courtrooms to prepare for competition. This year’s Mock Trial Team is comprised of three student attorneys and seven witnesses.
JHS has fielded a Mock Trial Team for the past two years that actively participates in regional and state Mock Trial competitions. Last year, the JHS team finished 10th in the state. For 89 9 KRPS News, I’m Fred Fletcher-Fierro
