Newton North High School was named state champion of the
Massachusetts Bar Association's 2016 High School Mock Trial Program
on March 29.
The state title is the school's 10th since 1988, with their most
recent prior championship coming in 2004.
Newton North earned the chance to compete at the National High
School Mock Trial Championship in Boise, Idaho, May 12-14. A
portion of their trip was funded by a $2,500 donation from the
MBA's philanthropic partner, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation.
Newton North and Boston Latin School competed in a two-hour mock
trial in Faneuil Hall's Great Hall. In the fictional scenario at
issue, Boston Latin School represented the plaintiff, a former star
soccer player who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2014, and
Newton North represented the defendant, a doctor who performed
heart surgery on the plaintiff in 2011 after the plaintiff suffered
heart failure following a game.
Hon. Mark D Mason, Massachusetts Superior Court, presided over
the mock trial and was assisted by Hon. John D. Casey,
Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, and Hon. Margaret R.
Guzman, Massachusetts District Court. All three judges commended
the students on both teams for performing at such a high-level.
"All students conducted themselves in a manner which was more
than competent. A manner which demonstrated truly the very best
that our profession has to offer," Mason said in his remarks after
the trial. "You have all demonstrated an achievement in advocacy
which is rarely reserved even for the finest lawyers."
Started in 1985, the MBA's Mock Trial Program began its 31st
year in January. The competition places high school teams from
across the state in simulated courtroom situations where they
assume the roles of lawyers, defendants and witnesses in
hypothetical cases. More than 1,500 students at 127 high schools
competed in this year's competition.
MBA President Robert W. Harnais welcomed the students to the
historic venue, and thanked the families and coaches of both teams
for their support.
"I am delighted to welcome our finalists here to the Great Hall
in Faneuil Hall - the place where thousands of new lawyers get
sworn in each year," said Harnais. "Perhaps many of you will go on
to become part of the Massachusetts legal community."