University School of Nashville
Named 2024 State Champion

University School of Nashville's mock trial team poses with Mock Trial Committee Chair Ashley Tipton (back row, fifth from left), Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater (back row, sixth from left), and Mock Trial Committee Vice Chair Michael Holmes (back row, seventh from left). Photo by Stacey Shrader Joslin

The 43rd Annual Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition took place March 22-23, 2024, at the historic Davidson County Courthouse in downtown Nashville. University School of Nashville was named the 2024 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial champion Saturday night after two days of preliminary trial rounds. It was the school's first statewide win. The Nashville-based school prevailed over Montgomery Bell Academy of Nashville, the 2022 and 2023 state champion. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater presided over the round while members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division's Executive Committee and TBA Board of Governors, including President Jim Barry of Memphis and Vice President Heidi Barcus served as jurors. The school now will represent Tennessee at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Wilmington, Delaware in May. The team is supported by faculty advisor Wilson Hubbell and coached by Nashville attorneys Ned Hildebrand with Dunham Hildebrand, Maureen Timoney Joyce and Ben Raybin with Raybin & Weissman.

Earlier in the day, Sevier County High School was awarded the 2024 Sportsmanship Award, the top eight teams were announced, individual awards were presented to the best advocates and witnesses, and an MVP for each team was recognized.

Special thanks to Mock Trial Committee Chair Ashley Tipton, Vice Chair Michael Holmes and members of the committee for organizing this year's event, which involved 14 teams, close to 200 participants and more than 100 volunteers, including sitting Tennessee judges, lawyers and law students. Thanks also goes to the hundreds of volunteers who make the district competitions possible, and the TBA staff for making the event a success.

Video of the championship round

Top 8 Teams

1st Place: University School of Nashville (Nashville)
2nd Place: Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville)
3rd Place: Farragut High School Gray Team (Knoxville)
4th Place: CSTHEA (Chattanooga)
5th Place: St. Mary's Episcopal School - Marigold Team (Memphis)
6th Place: Agathos Classical School (Columbia)
7th Place: Farragut High School Blue Team (Knoxville)
8th Place: Sevier County High School (Sevierville)

2nd Place Team

Montgomery Bell Academy takes second place in the 2024 State High School Mock Trial Competition. Team poses with Mock Trial Committee Chair Ashley Tipton (back row, third from left), Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater (front row, second from left), and Mock Trial Committee Vice Chair Michael Holmes (back row, second from left). The team is coached by Wade Cowan, Tracy Hanock and Marisa Combs-Smith. Photo by Stacey Shrader Joslin

Sportsmanship Award

Sevier County High School wins the 2024 Team Sportsmanship Award. The team is coached by Sevierville lawyer Charlotte Tatum and U.S. Magistrate Judge Cindy Wyrick. Photo by Liz Todaro

Individual Awards

Photos of individual award winners coming soon

BEST ADVOCATE FOR THE PROSECUTION
1st Place "The Robert Horton Campbell Award": Ava Heuston, Clarksville High School
2nd Place: Cy Turner, Montgomery Bell Academy
3rd Place: Adley Ogles, Agathos Classical School

BEST ADVOCATE FOR THE DEFENSE
1st Place: Margot Ross, University School of Nashville
2nd Place: Deborah Hill, Farragut High School Gray
3rd Place: Sara Grippo, Agathos Classical School

BEST WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION
1st Place: Lisa Lin, Signal Mountain High School
2nd Place: Alex Huskey, East Hamilton High School
3rd Place: Rachel Oppman, Central Magnet High School

BEST WITNESS FOR THE DEFENSE
1st Place: Alexander Reddy, Montgomery Bell Academy
2nd Place: Kenya Reyes, Unicoi County High School
3rd Place: Sara Camacho, Farragut High School Gray

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER (MVP)
Agathos Classical School: Adley Ogles
Central Magnet School: Janae Rothe
Clarksville High School: Ramisa Raida
CSTHEA: Nathanael Butler
East Hamilton High School: Caleb Wall
Farragut High School Blue: Hannah Taylor
Farragut High School Gray: Vaishnavi Tahineni
Montgomery Bell Academy: Kenny Royer
St. Mary's Episcopal School Marigold: Lillian Karnes
St. Mary's Episcopal School Orchid: Helen Dunlap
Sevier County High School: Addison Wyrick 
Signal Mountain High School: Mark Nashi
Unicoi County High School: Luke Berry
University School of Nashville: Xavier Warren

Presiding Judges

Thank you to the Tennessee judges who volunteered at the competition:

Hon. C. David Briley, Davidson County Circuit Court
Hon. Cynthia Chappell, Davidson County Criminal Court
Hon. Suzanne Cook, 1st Judicial District Circuit Court
Hon. Toby Gilley, Rutherford County General Sessions Court
Hon. Tom Greenholtz, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
Hon. Andra Hedrick, Davidson County Circuit Court
Hon. Douglas T. Jenkins, 3rd Judicial District
Hon. Caroline Knight, 13th Judicial District Circuit Court 
Hon. Anne C. Martin, Davidson County Chancery Court
Hon. Alex McVeagh, Hamilton County General Sessions Court
Hon. Patricia Head Moskal, Davidson County Chancery Court
Hon. Beau Pemberton, Obion Municipal Court
Hon. Russell Perkins, Davidson County Chancery Court
Hon. David Pool, Shelby County Criminal Court
Hon. David H. Veile, Williamson County Circuit Court Judge-Elect
Hon. Zachary R. Walden, 8th Judicial District Criminal Court

The TBA also thanks Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater for presiding over the championship round.

2023-2024 Mock Trial Committee

Chair: Ashley Tipton, Anderson & Reynolds, Nashville

Vice Chair: Michael Holmes, Carr Allison, Chattanooga

Immediate Past Chair & Long Range Planning Coordinator: Judge Zachary Walden, 8th Judicial District Criminal Court

Members:
Anne Boatner, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Chattanooga
Paige Barbeauld, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, Clarksville
Wyatt Boston, Boston, Holt and Durham, Lawrenceburg
John Jolley, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Chattanooga
Kate Melby, District Attorneys Office for the 20th Judicial District, Nashville
Bridget Pyman, Arnett Baker Draper & Hagood, Knoxville
Mitch Raines, Public Defenders Conference Appellate Division, Franklin
Maggie Stringer, Epstein Becker Green, Memphis
Daniel Zydel, Appalachian Underwriters Inc., Oak Ridge

State Competition Teams

District 1: Unicoi County High School
District 2, 3 & 4: Farragut High School Blue, Farragut High School Gray, Sevier County High School
District 5: CSTHEA, East Hamilton High School, Signal Mountain High School
District 6 & 7: Central Magnet School
District 8 & 10: Clarksville High School
District 9: Montgomery Bell Academy, University School of Nashville
District 11: Agathos Classical School
District 14: St. Mary's Episcopal School Marigold, St. Mary's Episcopal School Orchid

Information for Teams

Access information and forms for teams competing at the state competition. All teams planning to compete in the 2024 State High School Mock Trial Competition should fill out this form no later than Jan. 26, 2024: 2024 District HS MockTrial Team Registration Form

Information for Volunteers

Access information and forms for judges, lawyers and law student volunteers

Case Materials

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• Access the rules
• Access the revised problem
• Access the revised exhibits
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• Access Exhibit B Higher Quality Image
• Access Exhibit D Higher Quality Image

District Competitions

Thank you to the district coordinators who organized the 2024 district competitions.

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