Whitefish Bay Mock Trial Team Headed to State

On March 11, eight students will head to Madison with the hope of making their case to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices.

In just its third year, the mock trial team will join 12 other high school teams at the state tournament for the first time in school history. 

Under the direction of Whitefish Bay business teacher and mock trial advisor Greg Lippe, students Kait Howell, Matthew Frick, Emily Garcia, Andrew Gegios, Nathan LaFrombois, Rose Misey, Ali Stewart and Annie Vellon advanced to the tournament after placing second in the regional level competition held in Racine on Feb. 11.

Mock trial, a co-curricular activity of the Business Department, follows the rules and structure of a real court trial, allowing students to explore a particular legal case, court procedures and etiquette, and perform the case as the plaintiff or defendant.

Attorney coaches Robert Gegios, Sandra Gegios and Scott Campbell have also offered their guidance and support.

At regionals, the students presented to a three-person panel of judges, composed of volunteer attorneys and judges, but at the final state-level competition, the final group of teams will present to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices, who will judge the arguments.

The top scoring teams will move on to a final round of state-level competition the following day. The first-place winner will represent Wisconsin at the National Mock Trial Championship in Albuquerque, NM on May 3-6.