How to Judge Mock Trial

1) The judge will read out the full two-page fact pattern and jury instructions at the START of the round.

2) The judge call up the first speaker and confirm their side (prosecution or defense) and if they want time signals.

Typically, the speaker will receive a 'fist at grace'--when they reach seven minutes in the seven-minute category, they have 29 seconds to conclude their speech (the 'grace period') or they cannot receive first place in the round.The judge should hold up a fist at seven minutes so the speaker knows to conclude.

2) The speaker should be evaluated based on their speech's dynamism, presence and poise, adherence to the facts within the materials (and pointing out facts not contained therein), and theme and theory of the case. They should not be criticized for failing to introduce evidence that the case did not mention.

3) Speakers are not required to use props or visual aids; if they use them, the use of the visual aids should add to the performance.

4) The same process will be applied to every other speaker in the room.

5) Between speeches, check to see if there are any people who are double/triple-entered waiting outside. Give them a moment to come in and let students who are double/triple-entered in your room leave to go to their other categories. After the last person has spoken, if there are 'missing speakers' on your list, give them an additional 10 minutes to show up before marking them as a no-show.

6) At the end of the round, the judge will thank and dismiss the speakers. Then, they will rank the speakers (first place is best, fifth place is worst), give them speaker points (100 is best, 70 is worst), and submit their tabroom.com ballots. The judge will not give verbal feedback beyond generic encouragement during the round; this feedback will be written on the ballots.