Fifteen Tennessee judges, including Chief Justice Cornelia A. Clark, presided over the 31st annual Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition this weekend. Judges from across the state joined more than 200 attorneys and volunteers lended their expertise to this weekend’s state competition in Nashville.
Sixteen teams have qualified for the state championship by winning their local mock trial competitions. The winner of the state championship will represent Tennessee at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Phoenix on May 5 – 8.
The state competition began Friday afternoon at the Davidson County Courthouse in Nashville. Chief Justice Clark presided over the championship round, which took place on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The following judges from across the state presided over various rounds of the competition:
Judge Bill Anderson
Shelby County General Sessions Court
Magistrate Judge Joe Brown
U.S. District Court – Middle District of Tennessee
Judge Byron Bryant
Plainview Municipal Court Judge – Union County
Judge Paul Conley
Alamo Municipal Court Judge – Crockett County
Chief Justice Cornelia Clark
Tennessee Supreme Court
Judge Richard Dinkins
Court of Appeals
Judge John Fowlkes
30th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge – Shelby County
Judge Phyllis Gardner
Shelby County General Sessions Court
Judge Michael Jones
19th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge – Montgomery & Robertson counties
Chancellor Carol McCoy
20th Judicial District Chancery Court – Davidson County
Judge Camille McMullen
Court of Criminal Appeals
Judge Betty Moore
Shelby County General Sessions Court
Judge Robert Newell
Juvenile Court Judge – 28th Judicial District
Judge Robert Wedemeyer
Court of Criminal Appeals
Judge Thomas Woodall
Court of Criminal Appeals
The Tennessee mock trial program was initiated in 1980 as a project of the Public Law Institute of the University of Tennessee College of Law. Shortly thereafter, the Young Lawyers Division of the Tennessee Bar Association assumed responsibility for the competition. Since that time, the program has grown and improved; and today, more than 100 teams participate in local competitions across the state.
