Information for Teachers

Team composition
A team shall consist of at least six students and no more than 12. Only students whose names appear on the registration form may compete. A student shall not be included in more than one team. Once a student has been registered in a team they cannot be transferred to another team.

If the number of students in the team falls below six, new team members can be registered. It is essential that a new registration form listing ALL team members (existing and new) be forwarded to the Mock Trials Coordinator prior to the trial. The Mock Trials Coordinator may reject any entry form.

Teams must have at least four team members present on the night if the trial is to proceed. Failure to do so will result in a forfeit. An incomplete team (of no less than four team members) present on the night may re-organise its team and include substitutes. Substitutes from their opponent team's reserves can be used for the trial, but the students will not be awarded marks. All substitutes must comply with the rules of the competition as detailed in the manual.

If a full team is not present within 15 minutes of the scheduled commencement time (6pm) the team forfeits.


Court booking procedures
The team listed first in the draw shall appear for the plaintiff/prosecution. The plaintiff/prosecution team teacher is responsible for ensuring that the opposing team is contacted as soon as the draw sheet and case material is received to arrange a mutually convenient date for the trial. If insufficient notice of the date and venue of the trial is given to the Mock Trials Coordinator, the Coordinator cannot guarantee that an alternative judge will be found. (Please note: This is subject to the Mock Trials Coordinator's discretion).

If there is a failure by both teams to agree on a night for the trial, the prosecution team's teacher is to advise the Mock Trials Coordinator. A date will then be obtained by the Mock Trials Coordinator from the judge allocated for the trial. That date will be a date most suitable to the judge. If one or both teams are unavailable on that night, that team or teams will forfeit the round.

All trials are to be held between 6pm and 8.30pm. Strict time limits will be adhered to.

Trials are generally held at the Perth Law Courts. The Grand Final will be held at the Supreme Court of Western Australia. All court bookings MUST be arranged by the Mock Trials Coordinator.

Teams who make use of the courts must be present at the foyer entrance at 5.30 pm. At 5.45 pm the students may, in the presence of a responsible adult, make their way to the appropriate level of the courts. Trials must commence promptly at 6pm and be completed by no later than 8.30pm.

An adult supervisor must be nominated by each team to supervise students and spectators at the courthouses. Participants and spectators must go straight to the courtrooms allocated for their trials, remain there until the completion of the trial, and then immediately leave the courts. Please be aware that security officers are in the building and the building is under security camera surveillance.

Teachers from both teams must ensure the courtroom is left tidy at the end of the trial.


Case material
Teams are provided with the prosecution/plaintiff and defence side of a civil or criminal case.

Only documentation or exhibits provided with the case material may be produced. All exhibits provided in the case material are to be entered into evidence at the trial, regardless of objections. This modification is made because of the time limitation and restriction of witnesses that can be called.

Precedents other than those provided in the case material are not to be used. The introduction of evidence additional to that provided in the case material is not permitted. However, all case material must be used and statements adhered to. This gives barristers the opportunity to show their understanding of the rules of evidence by way of objections. The rules relating to the use of witness statements are set out in the Manual.

Witnesses must not refer to their statements or any other written material while giving evidence at the mock trial. Neither notes nor written material can be taken into the witness box. If a witness forgets evidence contained in their statement, it is the responsibility of the barrister to ask questions to prompt the witness. As a last resort, the judge may read out any evidence omitted by the witness.

There is to be no discussion between the barristers and solicitor of each team with any other participants or spectators during the break to prepare their closing address. Coaches and teachers must not coach teams during the trial.

Please note that the team that wins the legal case may not necessarily be the winning team in the round.


Score sheets
It is the responsibility of the prosecution/plaintiff team teacher to provide a blank score sheet and a completed copy of the Notice of Appearance to the judge at their mock trial.

It is the responsibility of the winning team teacher to ensure the score sheet is completed and checked thoroughly and signed by the judge and a teacher or coach from each team on the night. Unsigned score sheets will not be accepted by the Mock Trials Coordinator.

It is the responsibility of the winning team teacher to forward the score sheet and Notice of Appearance to the Mock Trials Coordinator by the end of the week nominated for the trial. A copy must also be sent to the opposing team.

All rounds must be completed and the score sheet and Notice of Appearance returned to the Mock Trials Coordinator by the due date.


Prior to meeting with coach
Familiarise students with courtroom procedures through the use of role-play of scripted mock trials, view schools who have participated in the Mock Trials Competition previously, and/or visit a courtroom and view a trial in progress. Another option may be to book the Central Law Courts to view a case in the Court of Petty Sessions or contact the Francis Burt Law Education Centre to view the Supreme Court and participate in scripted mock trials.

Encourage students to read the manual carefully. Preview the score sheet to assist students to focus their attention to areas of relevance and provide a guide to the judge's expectations. Students also need to be made aware of the time commitment required to compete in the competition and also that some rounds will clash with exams or other extracurricular activities.

Circulate the case material to students to read and be familiar with. Allocate roles to each team member. Students to identify evidence in the witness statements which can be objected to. Some suggested outlines for assisting students and coaches are listed below.


Meeting with coach
Please contact your coach as soon as possible to make appropriate arrangements for coaching your team/s. Coaches are members of the legal profession or law students who have undertaken a Mock Trials training seminar. The coach should determine the time and venue for the coaching. Coaches are not expected to spend more than two to three hours per round coaching.


Refer to the Effective Coaching summaries outlining the teacher's duties prior to each meeting with the coach.