
Creekview High School’s winning mock trial team.
A team of legal eagles from Carrollton’s Creekview High School bested 27 other teams from across the state over the weekend at the 37th Annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition.
Creekview now will represent Texas at the 2016 National High School Mock Trial Championship, May 12 through 14 in Boise, Idaho.
The competing teams, which emerged as the best among their school districts and regions, came together at the George Allen Sr. Courthouse in Dallas to argue a hypothetical civil court case written by attorneys with the Dallas Bar Association. They were matched against one another, culminating in the final championship round Saturday afternoon.
Students portrayed prosecutors and defense attorneys as well as witnesses. Judges and attorneys served as “jurors” who selected the best-prepared teams that demonstrated exceptional presentation skills, according to a news release by the Dallas Bar Association. The case was tried by students from approximately 165 Texas schools.
Additional top-placing teams were: Hillcrest High School of Dallas (2nd place); Covenant Classical School of Ft. Worth and Skyline High School of Dallas (semi-finalists).
The National High School Mock Trial Championship is dedicated to promoting an understanding and appreciation of the American judicial system through an academic competition.
The Dallas Bar Association has sponsored and coordinated the statewide program since its inception in the 1970s. Over its history, the Texas High School Mock Trial Competition has had more than 120,000 participants and awarded approximately $300,000 in scholarships at the local, regional and state levels, according to information from the bar association. More information about the program is available here.