Ohio Mock Trial

Ohio Mock Trial Competition

“The only exposure I had to the legal field was from television shows such as Law & Order. Mock Trial allowed me to come face to face with the career I have always known I wanted to pursue. For me, Mock Trial was not just a competition in high school. Mock Trial was the most important building block that solidified my passion to pursue law and become a lawyer. Not only did Mock Trial introduce me to mentors and legal professionals, but it also ignited a fire in me that still burns today." -- Tiana Bohanon, Cleveland State University Class of 2016

Volunteer today as a judicial panelist!

Attorneys and judges are needed to serve as competition judicial panelists Jan. 18 and Feb. 15, 2019 -- CLICK HERE to sign up today! At this done-in-a-day volunteer opportunity, volunteers have the chance to observe the region's finest budding legal minds in an exciting afternoon of competition. Judicial panels score students based on their understanding of the case facts and applicable law, the roles of the attorney and witnesses at trial, and courtroom procedures and decorum.

The CMBA is proud again in 2019 to host the first two stages of the Ohio Mock Trial Competition in Cuyahoga County for teams across Northeast Ohio. District trials will be held on January 18, and Regional trials on February 15 for advancing teams. Between the District and Regional competitions hosted by the CMBA in 2018, over 500 students represented 16 local high schools divided into 46 teams. Click here for a video of the mock trial in partnership with the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas.

The CMBA extends our sincere thanks to the judges and magistrates of the Court of Common Pleas, Cleveland Municipal Court, Cuyahoga County Eighth District Court of Appeals, Common Pleas Court, Probate Court, and Domestic Relations Court for allowing us to use their courtrooms for this special event each year, and to the Justice Center, Lakeside Courthouse, and Law Library staff for their gracious assistance. The Ohio Mock Trial program is conducted under the auspices of the Ohio Center for Law Related Education (OCLRE), sponsored by the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio State Bar Association, Attorney General’s Office and ACLU Foundation of Ohio.

Want to know what it's like to volunteer? Click here for a Bar Journal article featuring friends of the program sharing their experiences. For photos of participating teams and of the volunteer judicial panelists, please visit the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar’s Facebook page: @CleMetroBar

The Cuyahoga District and Regional Competitions are programs of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, with funding support provided by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation.

The CMBF is a 501(c)(3) organization; gifts to it are tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

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Thank you, volunteers and participants in 2018!

For the District stage of the competition, the CMBA again offered to host all teams from our area in 2018, which historically have been divided up between the various other competition sites outside Cuyahoga. Implemented first in 2016, the change was intended to benefit teachers, advisors, and students as we welcome them all to compete in their home county, eliminating the need for many teams to travel far from their schools and making the competition fairer for everyone.

The CMBA congratulates all participants and volunteer judicial panelists for successful District and Regional Competitions in 2018! District trials were held on Jan. 26, 2018, and Regional trials were held on Feb. 16 for advancing teams. Between the two competitions, over 500 students representing 16 high schools were given the opportunity to hone their communication and analytical skills in a real-life courtroom setting.

Special congratulations to Strongsville High School Team Thor for advancing through the semifinals of the State Tournament, and to Orange High School Team Newton for making it to the quarterfinals. For photos of participating teams and of the volunteer judicial panelists, please visit the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation’s Facebook page.