Purpose
The goal of the Judicial Program is to expose Missouri youth to the judicial process, from participation in trials as attorneys and witnesses, to developing leadership skills through mentoring and serving as Judges in those trials. The focus of the students’ work during the fall is on learning and practicing the various parts of a trial, and developing the case you work on throughout the semester.

Structure
The goal of the Judicial Program is to expose Missouri youth to the judicial process, from participation in trials as attorneys and witnesses, to developing leadership skills through mentoring and serving as Judges in those trials. The focus of the students’ work during the fall is on learning and practicing the various parts of a trial, and developing the case you work on throughout the semester.

That way, when you come to the State Convention, you will be well prepared to try (and judge as the case may be) Case A that you have been working on during the semester, and also to prepare and try (or judge) a second case in a trial competition during the State Convention. This handbook provides you with an explanation of how the program works, an overview of the parts of a trial, and tips for preparing your case. Above all, our goal for you is to learn about the judicial process while having fun.

With regard to Case A, there is an important change in the program for 2011. You will not be trying Case A against another team in your school. You will be trying Case A against another school. And, depending on how many students, teams, and courtrooms we have, you may be trying Case A twice. You will need to be prepared to try Case A on both the Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s side when you come to the convention.

On the evening of Day 1 of the State Convention, materials will be distributed for Case B, to be tried in a trial competition on Days 2 and 3 of the State Convention. When you register for the program, you will have a choice regarding whether you want to be an attorney or a witness in this trial competition. If you choose the role of Attorney, you will be paired up with a partner from another participating school at the convention to prepare and try the second case in the trial competition to a two or three judge panel. If there are not enough students signed up to be witnesses, we may have to use you as a witness if you are a first year participant.

You will try Case B two times against different opponents. Then, the Judges not participating in the trial competition as attorneys will choose four (4) teams to move on to the semi-final round. The Judges will choose the winners of the semi-final rounds, and those winners will then move on to the final round. The semi-final and final rounds will take place on Day 3 of the State Convention at the Missouri Supreme Court Building.

Roles
A judicial team is made up of two to four students. All teams should be prepared to try both sides of Case A and to cover the necessary roles. Roles include:

• Plaintiff and Defense Attorney – 1 or more attorneys per side
• Plaintiff and Defense Witnesses – 2 witnesses per side, both roles can be played by one person

Students may also apply to serve as a judge. Selections are made by the Program Coordinators. Judges preside over the trials at the State Convention. A student selected as a judge must also prepare a trial brief and try a case as an attorney. In order to be eligible to apply to be a Judge, you must have one year of experience in the program. If you are a Judge, you may also participate as part of a trial team in the moot trial competition if you so choose.

The Judicial Program is led by Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court, who is selected at the previous State Convention by the student judges. The Presiding Judge serves as a mentor to all judges and judicial participants.

Judicial Documents
Click here to review the YIG Handbooks and Judicial Program Documents. These documents may be useful in your preparation for the State Convention, especially with reviewing the case and developing your trial brief.