Nebraska High School Mock Trials are underway with judges serving as coordinators in every region. 2023 coordinators are:

Region 1-Honorable Leo Dobrovolny & Honorable Kris Mickey
Region 2-Honorable Tanya Roberts-Connick & Lindsay Pedersen
Region 3-Honorable Anne Paine, Nichole Lawson & Abby Larington
Region 4-Honorable Mark Kozisek & Mike Borders
Region 5-Honorable John Rademacher, Coy Clark & James Truell
Region 6-Honorable Donna Taylor
Region 7-Honorable Jason Bergevin
Region 8-Honorable Jodi Nelson
Region 9-Honorable Julie Smith
Region 10-Honorable Thomas Harmon

According to longtime high school mock trial advocate Judge Thomas Harmon, Omaha, “Without civics education, the freedom assured by our Constitution is in jeopardy.”  Chief Justice John Roberts has called on judges to invest in the preservation of constitutional democracy so that the next generation of young people understand that they each have civic responsibility.  He added, “Today, it is our challenge to educate the next generation to be attentive to the rule of law because an informed citizen is indispensable to democracy” He noted that the masthead of the Washington Post reads, “DEMOCRACY DIES IN DARKNESS.”

The Judge Lyle Strom High School Mock Trial Program is the flagship offering of the Nebraska State Bar Foundation Civics Education program. 

The State Championship will be December 11-12, 2023, in Lincoln and will include student journalists participating in the Student News Reporter Contest.  The contest was created to help students practice news reporting skills at the local level. It offers hands-on experience in a courtroom allowing student journalists to learn about courtroom procedures and the trial process.