March 4, high schools from in and around the Kane County area converged at the Kane County Judicial Center for the annual High School Mock Trial Tournament. The tournament drew teams from 14 Kane County area schools to compete and collaborate in two mock trials per team, with each trial presided over by a judge from the 16th Judicial Circuit.
The trials were evaluated by approximately 30 volunteers from the legal community, including 12 attorneys representing the Kane County Public Defender’s Office and the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The teams competed for first through third place team awards and individual awards for best lawyer and best witness.
Chief Judge Clint Hull gave opening remarks for both the participants and the volunteer evaluators as well presiding over mock trials. He was joined in judging the event by Judge Reginald Campbell, Judge Bradley David, Judge William Engerman, Judge Keith Johnson, Judge Michael Noland, Judge Charles Petersen, and Judge Divya Sarang.
More than 150 participants from the high schools listed below were at the Kane County Judicial Center to compete in the event, with the team from Southland College Prep in Richton Park in Will County securing the overall championship.
Here is the order of finish:
- Southland College Prep
- De LaSalle Institute
- South Elgin High
- Maine South High
- Bartlett High
- York High
- Stevenson High
- Normal West
- Barrington High
- CPSA
- St. Charles North High
- Homewood-Flossmoor High
- Naperville North High
- Elgin High
—Office of the Chief Judge and Court Administrator 16th Judicial Circuit