NHSMTC

Courtroom Journalist Competition

Courtroom Journalist Contest

The Courtroom Journalist Contest offers students the opportunity to experience the National High School Mock Trial Championship from the perspective of a news reporter, observing and documenting courtroom proceedings in real time.

Through the lens of journalism, students attend and report on mock trial rounds, producing a written article that captures the substance, strategy, and atmosphere of the competition. This experience allows participants to engage with the legal process in a different but equally meaningful way, developing skills in observation, analysis, and storytelling.

Each participating state may select a championship-level courtroom journalist to attend the NHSMTC alongside its team. During the competition, student journalists observe their team’s Round 2 trial and submit an original article based on the proceedings.

Entries are evaluated for clarity, accuracy, and insight, with the top submissions recognized at the National High School Mock Trial Championship Awards Ceremony.

JOURNALISM CONTEST RULES

The official rules can be found in Article 13 of the Rules of Competition.

Requirements:

  • All contestants must have participated in a Courtroom Journalist Contest in their state (at any level).
  • All participants must pay a $75.00 registration fee and register as your state’s official courtroom
  • reporter.
  • All participants agree to the publication or reprinting of their article for educational purposes.
  • No financial compensation will be awarded.

Contest Procedures:

  • The official courtroom journalism contest articles will be produced in Round 3. Contestants may practice reporting in Rounds 1 and 2, in the courtroom where their team is competing.
  • The article must report on your state’s round 3 trial. You must draft your article completely independently without the help of any source or person. 
  • During the trial, introduce yourself to the scorers, say your name and identify yourself as the courtroom reporter. Do not say what state or school you are from.
  • You may sit in the jury box away from scorers if space is available. You must wear your name tag.
  • Once the trial begins, you may not move about the courtroom. Reporters may not communicate, either verbally or non-verbally, with any member of the Mock Trial teams or any visitors in the courtroom during the trial rounds.
  • After Round 3, the journalist must type their final articles to submit to courtroomjournalism@nationalmocktrial.org by 3:00 pm on May 20th .
  • Only articles submitted by the deadline will be entered in the contest.

Article Specifications:

  • Submitted articles should be in the voice of a reporter covering the Round 3 trial.
  • Each courtroom journalist shall place their name and team code only – not their state or school – on the top left corner of the page.
  • The article must be in 12-point, Times New Roman font with one-inch margins.
  • The article must be double-spaced.
  • No article may exceed 850 words, excluding the journalist’s name and team code.

Judging Components:

  • Articles are evaluated and scored anonymously by a judge or judging team. The highest-scoring article will be named the NHSMTC Courtroom Journalist National Champion.
  • The results of the NHSMTC Courtroom Journalist Contest will be announced at the Awards Ceremony.

JOURNALISM CONTEST – ANATOMY OF NEWS STORY
JUDGING CRITERIA

Questions?  Please contact the Courtroom Journalist Contest Committee at courtroomjournalism@nationalmocktrial.org.

NHSMTC Courtroom Journalist Contest Winners

2022 – Kalamazoo, MI
  1st Place: Aryan Nahal, Palma High School, California
  2nd Place: Matthew Hatch, Integritas School, Utah
  3rd Place: Makayla Stewart, …, Michigan

2023 – Little Rock, DE
  1st Place: Emily Stephens, Clinton High School, Oklahoma
  2nd Place: Nathan Gonos, Clovis North High School, California
  3rd Place: Aileen Ukwuoma, Early College Academy, New Mexico

2024 – Wilmington, DE
  1st Place: Aileen Ukwuoma, Early College Academy, New Mexico
  2nd Place: Annabelle Iten, Colorado Academy, Colorado
  3rd Place: Sienna Crenshaw, American Fork High School, Utah

2025 – Phoenix, Arizona
  1st Place: Kaster Anderson, Hanover High School, New Hampshire
  2nd Place: Violet Carroll, Sand Creek High School, Colorado
  3rd Place: Nora Lafferty, Timberline High School, Idaho 

People’s Choice Courtroom Journalist Contest Winners
  1st Place: Hannah Geraghty, Acalanes High School, California
  2nd Place: Sarah Martinez, Early College Academy, New Mexico
  3rd Place: Kastner Anderson, Hanover High School, New Hampshire