Feb. 25, 2009

High school mock trial tournament to be held at Morningside College

Nine Iowa high schools will compete in a mock trial tournament at Morningside College on Tuesday, March 3, in the 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.

Schools participating in the tournament include Battle Creek-Ida Grove High School in Ida Grove; Central Lyon High School in Rock Rapids; Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines; East Sac County High School in Lake View; River Valley High School in Correctionville; St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Storm Lake; Sheldon High School in Sheldon; Spencer High School in Spencer; and Spirit Lake High School in Spirit Lake.

Registration for the event will begin at 7:45 a.m. in the lobby of the Olsen Student Center, 3609 Peters Ave. There will be three rounds of competition at 8:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Then competition results will be announced at approximately 4:15 p.m.

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 25-27. The Iowa Mock Trial Program is administered by the Iowa State Bar Association Center for Law & Civic Education.

“We’re very fortunate to have such an outstanding partner in Morningside College to host this event,” said John Wheeler, the center’s director. “The Morningside Mock Trial Team clearly understands the effort and talent required by these high school students to be successful. I’m grateful that they’ve volunteered their expertise to make this event possible. It should be a great competition.”

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. Coaches are Lillian López, associate professor of political science at Morningside, and Amy Ellis, attorney for the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office in Sioux City.