Attorney Mogul Judges Mock Trial
On Saturday, December 2, at the Penobscot Judicial Center in Bangor and at the Cumberland County Courthouse in Portland, high school students, their teachers, coaches and parents from across the state gathered for the 2023 Maine High School Mock Trial Competition. Having served many years as judge and evaluator for this annual competition, Gross, Minsky & Mogul attorney Steven Mogul was asked back for the 2023 competition to serve as a Presiding Judge. “I’ve served as an evaluator many times, but only a couple of times as a Presiding Judge,” said Mogul. “The experience has given me even greater respect for the work of our real judges.”
Two evaluators and a Presiding Judge score each trial. As a Presiding Judge, attorney Mogul was also responsible for conducting the trials and ruling on objections. According to Mogul, “with the help of a teacher and an attorney-coach, these students really did an outstanding job. The hard work and time spent was obvious as soon as the Court was called to order.”
The Maine High School Mock Trial program is part of the National High School Mock Trial Championship (https://www.nationalmocktrial.org). Attorney Mogul urges high school students who have an interest in public speaking, want to gain a better understanding of our legal system, enjoy acting and don’t mind competition, or any of the above, “find out if your high school has a mock trial program, and if not, consider advocating for one in your school. If you are a high school teacher or principal, consider starting a mock trial program. You can find contact information for Maine’s Mock Trial State Coordinator on the website.
And for other Maine attorneys, Mogul highly recommends getting involved as a judge/evaluator or as a team coach. “The program really needs more involvement from the legal community. It takes a lot for me to get up, put on a shirt and tie on and spend half of a Saturday in court, but for this, it’s a joy I’m happy to share.”