The Case for Mock Trial

The entrance sign for Riley County Courthouse, located at 100 Courthouse Plaza. Courtesy: T.J. Christman

Listen to the Full Audio Story - The Case for Mock TrailBy T.J. Christman

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With the Mock Trial Club season now over, the group is already looking to recruit new faces for next year. The Club provides students with hands-on experience in public speaking, critical thinking, and teamwork, which are valuable life skills for any career.

“I think the most valuable takeaway that anybody will have, whether you’re interested in a career in law or not, is going to be confidence as a public speaker, and just speaking in front of groups of people, which you can really take into any career you want to go into or any path in life,” says 2025-26 Mock Trial President Eli Wilch.

In addition to Mock Trial’s broad, transferable skills, the upcoming 2026-27 President, Jeffrey Warner, also believes that the experience will provide a strong foundation for students pursuing careers in law. “We’re doing trial advocacy, we are learning how to talk to a witness, learning how to direct examine them, learning how to cross-examine them, and everything in between. You learn how to draft documents and how to make your argument in court. You get a glimpse into what it’s like to be an attorney,” says Warner.

K-State Mock Trial has always been a smaller, tight-knit group of like-minded individuals. President Warner plans to spend his term focusing on the organization's growth. “You go across campus, there are so many pre-law students here, and more than half of them don’t know about the mock trial team or don’t know how to go about joining it. So a big part for me is letting people know we exist, we’re here, and we do really good work.

For any K-State students looking to join the Mock Trial Club this upcoming year, you can find the team at the activities carnival this fall. But for students with more immediate interests, you can reach out to any program officer at any time.