New Jersey Jewish News
MetroWest Feature
Alternate mock trial competition held in North Carolina
Two teams from New Jersey high schools competed this week in a mock trial competition devised in part to accommodate the needs of Shabbat-observant participants.
The first American Mock Trial Invitational was scheduled for May 15-17 on the campus of the University of North Carolina Law School in Chapel Hill. Among the 10 high school teams taking part were New Jersey’s reigning mock trial champions, Montclair High School of Essex County and Middle Township High School of Cape May County, which captured second place in the state championship competition in March.
The new competition was created in response to the decision by the National High School Mock Trial Championship, established in 1984, to disallow scheduling accommodations for Sabbath-observant teams.
The alternative competition was conceived and hosted by the NJ Bar Foundation and the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers.
The controversy erupted last spring at the National Mock Trial Competition when host state North Carolina decided to shift the schedule to enable that year’s NJ state championship team, Torah Academy of Bergen County, to participate. The competition’s board responded by barring such accommodations going forward.
Following that decision, New Jersey and North Carolina withdrew from the competition. U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman
(D-NJ) put together a resolution to press the national organizers to reconsider.
When the board did not back down, New Jersey and North Carolina established American Mock Trial Invitational.
“We are very pleased to join the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers in sponsoring this new event, to be held on weekdays, in which mock trial students throughout the country can compete and interact in a spirit of mutual respect and goodwill,” said State Bar Foundation president John J. Henschel.
“No student should have to choose between his or her faith and participation in a mock trial competition,” said academy CEO Richard M. Taylor.
States participating in the AMTI, in addition to New Jersey and North Carolina, include California, Kentucky, Idaho, Virginia, and Washington. A team from South Korea is also taking part. Except for New Jersey and North Carolina, all states and countries participating in AMTI also sent teams to the National High School Mock Trial Championship, held May 11-14 in Oklahoma City. Forty-four teams participated in that competition.
The student teams at AMTI argued both sides of the hypothetical case of State of Amity v. Jamison “Jamie” Anderson, in which a high school student is charged with committing a hate crime against a Muslim exchange student.
Results of the competition were not available at press time.
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