Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition – St. Louis Region

The Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition was founded by The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) in 1979 and is BAMSL’s most established program. The program is supported by the Saint Louis Bar Foundation and the Missouri Lawyer Trust Account Foundation.

As BAMSL’s only statewide Law-Related Education program, the Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition serves over 500 students from more than 40 schools throughout Missouri and is supported by up to 400 attorneys who volunteer as coaches, judges, and evaluators. The mock trials are structured like real courtroom trials and follow the same rules and procedures, so students learn first-hand how the legal system works and what role judges, lawyers, juries, and witnesses play in the court system. This increased understanding helps students develop a deeper appreciation for our justice system and the administration of justice. The competition also helps students develop and improve their public speaking and critical thinking skills.

Volunteers are needed to serve as presiding judges (sit on the bench and rule on objections, keep the trial moving, etc.) and jurors (sit in the jury box and score aspects of the trial presentation) for the Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition.

No mock trial experience necessary. Presiding judges must be licensed attorneys. Jurors may be anyone with at least a bachelor’s degree.

The trials will be held at the St. Louis County Courts Building (105 S Central Ave). Please arrive by 5:30 p.m. for a brief volunteer meeting. Trials start at 6 p.m.

Contact: Danny Barnett-Foster dbarnett@bamsl.org