Newton North High School Wins Mock Trial State Championship

NEWTON, MA - Newton North High School emerged as the state champion of the Massachusetts Bar Association's 2016 High School Mock Trial Program Tuesday.

Facing off against Boston Latin School, the team from Newton North represented the defendant in a fictional scenario involving a terminally-ill former soccer star.

Boston Latin represented the plaintiff, a former soccer player diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2014 who was bringing suit against a doctor, represented by Newton North, who performed surgery on him after he suffered heart failure after a game three years prior.

The case was presided over by Hon. Mark D Mason, Massachusetts Superior Court, with the help of Hon. John D. Casey, Massachusetts Probate and Family Court and Hon. Margaret R. Guzman, Massachusetts District Court. At the conclusion of the trial, the judges praised both teams for their maturity and professionalism.

“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,” Judge Mason said after the trial, according to a press release. “You have all demonstrated an achievement in advocacy, which is rarely reserved even for the finest lawyers.”

The team will next compete in the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Boise, Idaho from May 12-14. Part of their trip will be paid for by a $2,500 donation from the Massachusetts Bar Association’s philanthropic partner, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation.

The Massachusetts Bar Association first started the Mock Trial Program in 1985, placing high school teams from across the state in hypothetical courtroom scenarios as lawyers, defendants and witnesses. More than 1,500 students at 127 high schools competed this year.

The state title is the school's 10th since 1988 and first since 2004.

Photo Credit: Jeff Thiebauth