The Colorado High School Mock Trial program celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. Sixteen new schools were welcomed into the program this anniversary year.

Ninety-five teams participated in seven regional tournaments for the right to advance to the State Tournament, where twenty-two teams competed for the state title. The State Tournament was held in Boulder County and hosted by the Boulder County Bar Association. This year, more than 1,100 students became familiar with the litigation process, while gaining critical thinking, advocacy, and speaking skills as they prepared for their regional tournaments.

The Colorado High School Mock Trial program could not exist without the support of CBA volunteers. The Colorado Bar Association ("CBA") Public Legal Education ("PLE") Committee thanks all attorneys and teachers who coached these fabulous students. These coaches committed literally hundreds of hours to prepare the students for competition. Thanks also is extended to the local bar associations and their attorney members who coordinated their regional tournaments, as well as the hundreds of attorneys, judges and magistrates, and community volunteers who support the regional and state tournaments as presiding judges and scoring panelists. Without the commitment of the many volunteers, these tournaments could not happen.

The CBA PLE and its Mock Trial Subcommittee extend special congratulations and thanks to all the students, their attorney- and teacher-coaches and parents, and tournament volunteers who make this program possible. We look forward to broadened support next year as we strive to continue to impact young lives in this constructive, challenging, and creative fashion.

To find out how to become involved in this worthwhile educational program as an attorney-coach or a tournament volunteer, please contact Carolyn Ferber at the CBA, (303) 824-5323 or cferber@cobar.org.

Congratulations to the Colorado High School Mock Trial Teams
That Participated in the 2005 CBA State Mock Trial Program!

Here are the ninety-five Colorado high school teams that participated in the seven regional tournaments, followed by the name of the teams that advanced to the state competitions. The asterisk [*] beside a team denotes a school participating in the program for the first time in the 2005 competitions. Photographs of the teams advancing to the state competitions begin on the next page.

Bear Creek High School notified the Colorado Bar Association ("CBA") that it did not have an attorney-coach for its mock trial team. The school "lost" its coach soon after its team was registered.

David Schott	Robert Leher

An S-O-S e-mail was sent to those teams that had several coaches in their corner. Two attorneys, David Schott and Robert Leher, stepped forward to help the Bear Creek team. Schott and Leher already were committed to coaching several teams at Regis Jesuit High School and Cherry Creek High School, respectively, in the Arapahoe County Region.

For two weeks, Schott and Leher squeezed time between their own team practices to visit Bear Creek and answer questions posed by the students. They observed their opening statements and closing arguments, and provided instruction and guidance about direct- and cross-examinations prior to Bear Creek’s First Judicial District regional tournament. [Bear Creek High School placed 6th out of 20 teams in the regional tournament—one spot shy of advancing to the state tournament.]

The efforts of David Schott and Robert Leher demonstrate the foundation upon which the program is built, as well as its goals: dedicated attorneys and teachers who serve as coaches to high school students, instructing them about the American judicial system and court procedures. Their assistance to Bear Creek during a critical time of need sheds a positive light on the entire experience for these young students. Their extraordinary participation exemplifies the program’s philosophy of education, student interaction, and team participation above simple competition and a goal of winning.

The CBA and its Public Legal Education ("PLE") Committee thank David Schott and Robert Leher for going above and beyond the call of duty in the 2005 High School Mock Trial Program. Their commitment and dedication, along with that of every attorney-coach, has helped to make the 2005 tournament a true success for the ninety-five teams that participated.