The 2025 Qualifiers Will Be Held in Albuquerque and Las Cruces
The qualifier competition consists of four rounds: rounds 1 and 2 on Friday, and rounds 3 and 4 on Saturday. Rounds 1 and 3 begin at 9:00 AM and generally end around 11:00; rounds 2 and 4 begin at 2:00 PM and generally end around 4:00 PM. Each team is guaranteed to present each side of the case (prosecution/plaintiff or defense) at least once.
At the conclusion round 4 of the qualifiers, the results are tabulated and presented at the awards ceremony. The top 16 teams will move on to compete at the State Competition in March.
Individual awards are given to students who are selected by a judging panel as an Outstanding Attorney or Witness.
Courtroom artists will compete (draw) in rounds 1 and 2 during both competitions. Courtroom artists who are part of a mock trial team will stay with their team. Those who are not part of a mock trial team and competing on their own will be assigned courtrooms by mock trial staff.
Courtroom journalists will compete (write) an article based on rounds 1 or 2. Courtroom journalists who are part of a mock trial team will stay with their team. Those who are not part of a mock trial team and competing on their own will be assigned courtrooms by mock trial staff.
At the conclusion of round 4 at qualifiers the results will be tabulated and the top 16 courtroom artists and journalists will compete at the state competition in March.
Teams will be emailed copies of their ballots no later than the Monday after the competition.