Madison – Students from 16 Wisconsin high schools will advance to the State Bar of Wisconsin’s 32nd Annual High School Mock Trial semifinal event on Saturday, March 7 at the Dane County Courthouse in Madison.

Each team will have a chance to make their case before a panel of volunteer attorneys and judges during the two-day event, beginning with four trials on Saturday and concluding with the top two teams competing in a final round on Sunday in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The winning team will go on to represent the state at the National Mock Trial Championship in Raleigh, N.C.

The Mock Trial program provides high school students with an opportunity to act as attorneys and witnesses in a court case that has been developed by State Bar members. This year’s students – in teams of 6 to 12 – unravel a criminal case.

The case, which was drafted by members of the State Bar Mock Trial Committee, prompts students to prepare and present their arguments based on the following scenario:

Jamie Covington, a third year law student, shot and killed their roommate, Dallas Lawson, when Lawson was entering the apartment through a bathroom window. Did Covington shoot Lawson in self-defense or was there an ulterior motive?

All teams finishing first in each region will compete in the semifinals, along with four second place teams that were randomly selected from all second place finishers. The teams advancing to the semifinals are:

Appleton Region

First place:

Xavier Team 1

Second place:

Appleton West High School

Eau Claire Region

First place: River Falls High School Team 1

Second place:

Superior High School

Green Bay Region

First place: Green Bay East High School

Second place:

Bay Port High School

Janesville Region

First place:

Oregon High School

Juneau Region

First place: Lodi High School Team 2

La Crosse Region

First place: River Valley High School

Madison Region

First place: Middleton High School Team 1

Second place: Madison Memorial

Milwaukee Region

First place: Shorewood High School Team 1

Racine Region

First place: Franklin High School

Waukesha Region

First place: Brookfield Academy Team 2

Wausau Region

First place: Rhinelander High School Team 1

Wisconsin Rapids Region

First place: Lincoln High School Team 1