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The Delaware Mock Trial Competition is a high school Mock Trial competition in Delaware sponsored by the Delaware Law Related Education Center (or DelREC).[1] The winning school of the state finals advances to the National High School Mock Trial Championship. The Delaware Mock Trial Competition was established in 1991, with its first competition being held in 1992.[2] The case material is usually released early in November and the competition takes place on the last Friday and Saturday in February at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, Delaware.
Typically, between 20 and 24 teams compete each year, drawing from traditional public schools, charter schools, private schools, catholic schools, and civic organizations from across the state. Since 2014, 34 Delaware High Schools (including public, charter, and private school) or affiliated organizations have competed at the State Competition. During that same time period, eight schools have sent two teams to at least one competition. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 2021 and 2022 competition seasons were held virtually.
Delaware has been the host site of the National High School Mock Trial Championship twice in 2008 and 2024.[3] A Delaware team has never won the National Competition but it has had one second place finish (1995) and one third place finish (2008) since it joined as a member state to the organization in 1993.
Trial Format
editOpening Statements
editA trial starts with a 5-minute opening statement by the Plaintiff/Prosecution (depending on whether the case is civil or criminal, respectively), which is immediately followed by a 5-minute opening statement by the defense.[4]
Witness Testimony
editAfter opening statements, the plaintiff/prosecution calls its first witness.[5] The plaintiff/prosecution conducts a direct examination of the witness, and then defense conducts a cross examination of the same witness. After cross-examination, plaintiff/prosecution has the opportunity to conduct a redirect examination of the witness. If they do, defense is given the chance to recross the witness.[6] After either all four types of exams have been conducted or one party abstains from doing redirect or recross respectively, the witness steps down from the stand. This process is then repeated for two more plaintiff/prosecution witnesses. With the conclusion of testimony from the third plaintiff witness, the plaintiff rests. The Defense then calls three witnesses in the same manner described above for the plaintiff/prosecution.
Each team has 45 minutes for witness testimony with 25 minutes designated for direct examination and 20 minutes designated for cross examination (including redirects and recrosses conducted by counsel of that team).[7] The clock does stop, however, for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, objections and parts of the process for entering exhibits.[8])
Closing Arguments
editOnce the third defense witness has finished giving testimony, the plaintiff/prosecution gives gives their closing argument. Like opening statements, closing arguments are limited to 5 minutes apiece. After plaintiff/prosecution closes, the defense gives its closing statement. After the defense goes, the plaintiff/prosecution has a chance to provide a rebuttal that is limited to the scope of the defendant's closing statement if time allows., after which the plaintiff/prosecution may offer a rebuttal.[9] Barring any disputes being raised, this marks the conclusion of the trial, and the jury is dismissed to tally points.
Scoring & Winner
editEach member of the jury scores each part of the trial based on specific scoring categories, such as the flow of a direct examination or the effectiveness of a cross-examination. Each opening statement or closing argument is worth a maximum of 10 points. Each direct or cross-examination is also worth, at most, 10 points. Each witness can earn a maximum of 10 points independent of any other points from direct examination. There is one team evaluation category scored at the end of the trial, which serves as a tiebreaker. Therefore, each team can earn up to 110 points during the trial.[10]
On any juror's ballot, the team with more points is the winner of that scoresheet. Each scoresheet is worth one vote or "ballot". Whichever team receives more ballots is declared the winner of the trial.[11]
Past Cases
edit| Year | Name | Subject of Case |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | State of Delaware v. Pat Hughes[12] | Hazing and Negligence |
| 2003 | Sandy Hills v. Midway School Board and Dale Green, Principal Midway HS[13] | Freedom of speech |
| 2005 | Pat Haddas v. Lou Temony[14] | Negligence |
| 2006 | State of Delaware v. Kinsley Williams[15] | Cyberstalking |
| 2007 | Aaron/Erin Wilson v. Gander's, Inc.[16] | Wrongful Dismissal |
| 2008 | State of Delaware v. Lin Pauling[17] | Controlled substance homicide |
| 2009 | A&M Records, Inc., et al. v. K.C. Jones[18] | Music copyright infringement |
| 2010 | State of Delaware v. Izzy Freeman[19] | First-Degree Murder |
| 2011 | Dakota Skyy v. Castle College and Morgan Pettigrew[20] | Breach of Contract over scholarship/admissions offer |
| 2012 | State of Delaware v. Les Hayes[21] | First-Degree Murder |
| 2013 | Jess Paxton v. Alex McMasters[22] | Personal injury claim stemming from drunk driving incident |
| 2014 | State of Delaware v. Cameron Paul[23] | First-Degree Murder |
| 2015 | First State Liability Insurance Company Inc. v. Denim N' More, Inc.[24] | Insurance fraud through arson |
| 2016 | State of Delaware v. Quinn Penner[25] | First-Degree Murder by Police Officer |
| 2017 | Creative Internet Technologies Investments v. Hayden Joyce[26] | Fraud over the "Teacher's Pet" App |
| 2018 | State of Delaware v. Elliot Stewart[27] | Theft of six Andrew Wyeth paintings worth over $100,000 |
| 2019 | Mid-east Stevedores Services, Inc. v. Delaware Auto and Marine Corporation, et al.[28] | Fiduciary duty to shareholders |
| 2020 | State of Delaware v. Dakota Boren[29] | Second-Degree Murder at a rodeo competition |
| 2021 | Lilienthal Insurance, Inc. v. Natural Habitat Preserve[30] | Insurance case |
| 2022 | State of Delaware v. Quinn Fenwick[31] | Drug delivery resulting in death |
| 2023 | Estate of George Romero v. Ashley Williams[32] | Wrongful death by energy drink |
| 2024 | State of Delaware v. Sam Pyke[33] | First-Degree Murder |
| 2025 | Jean Stuart v. DE.CO Food Hall[34] | Negligence in failing to exercise ordinary care in hiring and retaining employee |
When Delaware has hosted the National High School Mock Trial Championship, they used the following cases:
| Year | Name | Subject of Case |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Mid-east Stevedores Services, Inc. v. Delaware Auto and Marine Corporation, et al.[35] | Fiduciary duty to shareholders |
| 2024 | Jamie Cameron and other shareholders of QuikPhone SAC I v. Bree Plaza and QuikPhone SAC I[36] | Fiduciary duty to shareholders |
State Finals Results
edit- Years in bold were years in which the state hosted the National Tournament
- Note #1 - Second place team in 2018 attended National Tournament instead of state champion
- Note #2 - Second place team in 2024 qualified and attended in 2024 for National Tournament as the Host Alternate Team
Delaware Way Award Winners
editThe Delaware Way award is given each year to the team that the best exemplifies the ideals of mock trial – civility, justice, and fair play.[45]
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Sussex Central High School |
| 2021 | Mount Pleasant High School |
| 2022 | Newark Charter School |
| 2023 | "Bye-Buster" Team from Salesianium and Cape Henlopen High School |
| 2024 | Charter School of Wilmington B-Team |
Courtroom Artist, Courtroom Journalist, and Mock Trial Essay Winners
editThe artist and journalist competitions take place in the third round of the competition. The courtroom artist has to sketch during the trial and provide their work at the conclusion of the round. The courtroom journalist watched the trial and then has two hours to write a 800-word (or less) article on the proceedings. The Courtroom Artist contest was started in 2019 and the Courtroom Reporter contest was started in 2022. Due to the virtual nature of the competition in 2021 and 2022, the Courtroom Artist contest was not held.
For the Mock Trial Essay, seniors were given the prompt "How Has the Delaware High School Mock Trial Program Helped Prepare You to Become a More Effective Citizen?" prior to the competition and tasked with writing an essay between 500 and 1000 words. GE sponsored the award in 2016 and 2017 and Anthony Iannini sponsored it through 2020.
| Year | Courtroom Artist Winner | Courtroom Journalist Winner | Mock Trial Essay Contest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016[46] | Newark High School's River Shannon | ||
| 2017[47] | Archmere Academy's Oliva D’Dwyer | ||
| 2018[48] | Sussex Central's Holly Williams and Archmere's Madison Larmore | ||
| 2019[49] | Wilmington Christian School's Rylee Santillo | Newark Charter School's Hannah Kim | |
| 2020[50] | Archmere Academy's Lauren Wilson | ||
| 2023[51] | Archmere Academy's Jace Walker | Ursuline Academy's Aurey Pachuta | |
| 2024[52] | Newark Charter School's Allison Munson | Not awarded |
Schools with State Finals Appearances
edit| Appearances | Team | Wins | Losses | Last appearance | Best Finish at Nationals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Saint Mark's High School | 11 | 5 | 2015 | 2nd (1993) |
| 15 | Charter School of Wilmington | 11 | 4 | 2024 | 3rd (2008) |
| 10 | Wilmington Friends School | 4 | 6 | 2023 | 25th (2017) |
| 7 | Wilmington Christian School | 4 | 3 | 2010 | 15th (2000) |
| 3 | Padua Academy | 1 | 2 | 1998 | Rank unavailable (1997) |
| 3 | Sussex Central High School | 0 | 3 | 2018 | 31st (2018) |
| 2 | Archmere Academy | 0 | 2 | 2022 | |
| 2 | St. Elizabeth High School | 0 | 2 | 2020 | |
| 2 | Ursuline Academy | 0 | 2 | 2003 | |
| 1 | Cab Calloway School of the Arts | 1 | 0 | 2018 | Did not attend (2018) |
| 1 | Cape Henlopen High School | 1 | 0 | 2020 | No tournament (2020) |
| 1 | Alexis I. duPont High School | 0 | 1 | 2006 | |
| 1 | Delcastle Technical High School | 0 | 1 | 1992 | |
| 1 | Newark Charter School | 0 | 1 | 2024 | 21 (2024) |
| 1 | William Penn High School | 0 | 1 | 1995 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ About DelREC
- ^ Delaware Mock Trial Competition homepage
- ^ 2024 Host Website
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 4.5
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 3.4
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 4.22
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 4.5
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 4.6c
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 4.5
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 5.4
- ^ 2023 DE Rules of Competition- Rule 5.2a
- ^ "Mock Trial Examines Issues of Hazing and Negligence", St. Andrew's Magazine (Spring 2002), p 10-11
- ^ Sandy Hills v. Midway School Board and Dale Green, Principal Midway High School
- ^ Pat Haddas v. Lou Temony
- ^ State of Delaware v. Kinsley Williams
- ^ Aaron/Erin Wilson v. Gander's, Inc.
- ^ State of Delaware v. Lin Pauling
- ^ A&M Records, Inc., et al. v. K.C. Jones
- ^ State of Delaware v. Izzy Freeman
- ^ Dakota Skyy v. Castle College and Morgan Pettigrew
- ^ State of Delaware v. Les Hayes
- ^ Jess Paxton v. Alex McMasters
- ^ State of Delaware v. Cameron Paul
- ^ First State Liability Insurance Company Inc. v. Denim N' More, Inc.
- ^ State of Delaware v. Quinn Penner
- ^ Creative Internet Technologies Investments v. Hayden Joyce
- ^ State of Delaware v. Elliot Stewart
- ^ Mid-east Stevedores Services, Inc. v. Delaware Auto and Marine Corporation, et al.
- ^ State of Delaware v. Dakota Boren
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210125073012/http://delrec.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/CORRECTED_2021-Delaware-Case-Version-1.1.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ State of Delaware v. Quinn Fenwick
- ^ Estate of George Romero v. Ashley Williams
- ^ State of Delaware v. Sam Pyke
- ^ Jean Stuart v. DE.CO Food Hall
- ^ Mid-east Stevedores Services, Inc. v. Delaware Auto and Marine Corporation, et al.
- ^ Jamie Cameron and other shareholders of QuikPhone SAC I v. Bree Plaza and QuikPhone SAC I
- ^ Championship Results
- ^ National Championship Results
- ^ "mock+trial" Delaware News Journal archives
- ^ National Championship Results
- ^ https://delawareonline.newspapers.com/image/164313200/ Wilm Charter places third in mock trials, May 11, 2008
- ^ Sussex Central attended Nationals for Delaware
- ^ Delaware Court release about the State Competition
- ^ Delaware Court release about the National Competition
- ^ Quote about award from 2023 Results Press Release
- ^ Staff Writer (2019-02-26). "Wilmington Charter Wins The 2019 Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition". First State Update. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
- ^ Press Release about Competition
- ^ Competition Press Release
- ^ "Wilmington Charter Wins the 2019 Delaware High School Mock Trial Competition". 26 February 2019.
- ^ Press Release about the 2020 Competition
- ^ "Wilmington Charter wins 2023 state mock trial competition", Delaware Live, February 27, 2023
- ^ "Wilmington Charter goes back-to-back, ties most wins in State Mock Trial" Delaware Live, February 27, 2023