Ventura County Mock Trial
Ventura County Bar Association is working for you…On behalf of the 700+ students who participate in the Ventura County Mock Trial program, the Mock Trial captures the imagination and engages the students of our community like no other activity. The students have been steadfastly studying and practicing for hours each week since September. They participate out of sheer joy and determination to grapple with the intricate issues that are the heart of the legal profession. In large part, these students participate in Mock Trial because the VCBA has validated the program by years of support from attorneys like you volunteering as an attorney scorer and/or judge.
LOCATION: Ventura County Courthouse TIME: Arrive at courthouse at 8:00am, rounds begin at 9:00am. Tentative end time is 4pm.
HIGH SCHOOL 2024 DATES
- Mock Trial Rounds – February 3, 4, 24, 25, 2024
- Mock Trial Awards – February 26, 2024
MIDDLE SCHOOL 2024 DATES
- Rounds – February 24 and February 25, 2024
- Championship Round – February 27, 2024
- Awards – February 27, 2024
Since 1983 the Ventura County Office of Education has partnered with the Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) to provide the Mock Trial for our students. Each year approximately 600 Ventura County students, in grades 9-12, actively experience the excitement of working in teams, exchanging ideas, setting goals, and examining issues while interacting with positive role models from their communities. The winning county team is then invited to the State Mock Trial to compete with their peers from across California where many of our past teams have then gone on to compete in the National Mock Trial. The Mock Trial is designed to clarify the workings of our legal institutions for students through first-hand experience. Students in grades 9 to 14 portray each of the principals in the cast of courtroom characters. Student teams study a hypothetical case, conduct legal research, receive guidance from volunteer attorneys in courtroom procedure and trial preparation, and present their case before volunteer judges. The goal of the Constitutional Rights Foundation is to “instill in our nation’s youth a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights and to educate young people to become active and responsible participants in our society.”