Feb. 23, 2012

Morningside College Mock Trial Team to host high school mock trial tournament

Sixteen high school mock trial teams will compete in a tournament at Morningside College on Tuesday, March 6, in Lincoln Center, 3627 Peters Ave.

The event is free and open to the public. It is being hosted by the Morningside College Mock Trial Team.

Iowa schools participating in the tournament include East Sac County High School in Lake View, Carroll High School in Carroll, Okoboji High School in Milford, Ridge View High School in Holstein, Spirit Lake High School in Spirit Lake, Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids, Spencer High School in Spencer and St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Storm Lake.

Registration for the event will begin at 8:15 a.m. in the lobby of the Olsen Student Center, 3609 Peters Ave. Then there will be two rounds of competition in Lincoln Center at 9 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Competition results will be announced at approximately 3:30 p.m. in Lincoln Center.

This tournament is one of 10 regional competitions throughout Iowa in March leading up to the state tournament in Des Moines, which will take place March 28-30. The Iowa Mock Trial Program is administered by the Iowa State Bar Association Center for Law & Civic Education.

The Morningside College Mock Trial Team meets weekly to prepare cases and scrimmage for competitions. The team has attended tournaments in places such as Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and University of California, Los Angeles. The team is open to students from any major. It is led by educational coaches Lillian Lopez, associate professor of political science, and Kitty Green, instructor of history, and attorney coach Tara Vonnahme from the Vonnahme Law Firm in Sioux City.