Applications Open! Enroll for Summer 2027 at 2026 Tuition Pricing Until Sept 30
Build a case and argue it in mock court in this 2-week program for high school students on the University of Michigan campus.
Course Description
On the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, students explore courtroom strategy in a lively college-town setting. A trial is a coordinated process in which every role sees the case differently. Students examine the responsibilities of attorneys, defendants, witnesses, judges, and jurors, then study how legal teams prepare a hypothetical case. Jury selection and voir dire introduce the questions advocates use to understand a potential jury.
Working in teams from a mock-trial packet, students develop opening and closing statements, prepare direct and cross-examination questions, and learn when evidence may be introduced or challenged. Practice sessions require them to make objections, respond to an opponent, and revise strategy as the case takes shape.
The culminating mock trial puts preparation into motion. Students present arguments, question witnesses, manage exhibits, and respond in real time while maintaining courtroom procedure. Reflection and feedback connect courtroom performance with the critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, and public speaking skills that effective advocacy requires.
This two-week Summer Discovery course takes place on the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The course is available to residential and commuter students. Beyond class, students connect focused academic work with campus life, growing independence, and clearer direction about what students may want to study or pursue next.
What Will You Do?
• Analyze the roles of attorneys, witnesses, judges, and jurors
• Practice jury selection and the voir dire process
• Develop persuasive opening and closing statements
• Write direct and cross-examination questions
• Introduce evidence and make appropriate objections
• Prepare and conduct a collaborative mock trial
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• Explain the sequence, roles, and strategic choices within a trial
• Construct examinations and arguments from a hypothetical case record
• Present and adapt an evidence-based case during a mock trial
Students leave with prepared courtroom materials, mock-trial experience, and greater confidence in structured legal advocacy.
Why Mock Trial Skills Matter
Mock trial teaches students to build an argument within rules. They must connect facts to a theory of the case, decide which questions will develop useful testimony, and anticipate how the other side may respond. Precision matters because a vague claim or poorly framed question can weaken the whole strategy.
Courtroom practice also builds composure and listening. Students adapt when a witness answers unexpectedly, make or answer objections, and communicate with a judge and jury. These skills transfer to presentations, debate, leadership, and any setting where evidence must be explained under pressure.
Who Should Attend?
This course is for high school students who have completed 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade and are interested in law, debate, justice, acting, public speaking, or strategic problem-solving. It fits students who want to understand both the preparation behind a case and the challenge of presenting it live.
Participants should be ready to read a case packet, collaborate closely, take on an assigned role, question witnesses, and speak before classmates. Careful preparation and respectful competition are central to the course.
Recommended by More Than 9 out of 10 Students
Based on students surveyed in Summer Discovery’s 2026 program at the University of Michigan.
Why University of Michigan?
Programs on the University of Michigan campus give high-school students the experience of exploring an academic interest in Ann Arbor, a college town where campus and community life blend together. Tree-lined streets, downtown bookstores and cafés, the Nichols Arboretum, and trails near the Huron River create different ways to experience the setting beyond class.
Students learn alongside peers, navigate a large and active campus, and gain independence through everyday choices in a new environment. The experience helps students understand what university life can feel like while giving them space to deepen an interest without having every next step decided. For families, the program offers a meaningful combination of academic depth, community, personal growth, and clearer direction about what a student may want to study or pursue next.
Mock Trial in Action
Trial attorneys, judges, paralegals, investigators, witnesses, and jurors play distinct roles in the justice system. Legal teams analyze facts, prepare testimony, organize exhibits, research rules, and shape a clear case theory before entering a courtroom.
Students rehearse that process through jury selection, openings, examinations, objections, closings, and a full mock trial. Rotating between preparation and live advocacy provides a grounded introduction to litigation, legal practice, courtroom communication, and evidence-based decision-making. It also shows how specialists collaborate across roles and communicate important decisions to colleagues, clients, or the public.
After successfully finishing this course, you will be awarded a certification completion for your accomplishment.
*This is a preview, not what you will receive