Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our tournaments use a three-attorney, three-witness format per side, following AMTA (American Mock Trial Association) rules — the format used across collegiate mock trial. Each round includes opening statements, direct and cross-examinations of six witnesses, and closing arguments.

    Note for teams coming from the California high school state format: there is no pre-trial oral argument. If your students have only competed under Teach Democracy rules, the structure will feel familiar, but the rules of evidence and objection practice differ in places — please review the AMTA rules linked on our Rules page.

  • Our tournaments are open to teams of students in grades 8 through 12. Whether you’re from California, out-of-state, and from abroad, you’re eligible to compete. You don’t need to be part of an established mock trial program, and no prior competition experience is required. If you can field a team and get to the courtroom, you’re welcome.

  • Registration is $90 per student, per tournament. That covers all four rounds of competition across the weekend.

  • Teams consist of a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve students (Note: this is a League modification of the standard AMTA roster limit).

    A six-person team can compete, but every student will “double-side.” A twelve-person team can compete, but every student will “single-side.” For rosters in the middle, that is up to your discretion to divide up roles.

  • Round 1 pairings are determined by random draw. Rounds 2 through 4 are power-matched: teams are paired against opponents with similar records, so as the weekend progresses, you face teams performing at your level — the strongest teams meet each other in the late rounds, and newer teams get competitive, winnable trials instead of mismatches.

    Pairings also respect side balance: each day, every team competes once as Prosecution/Plaintiff and once as Defense.

    Full pairing and tabulation procedures mirror AMTA’s, which can be found in the Rules page.