July 16, 2025
Education

Timothy Christian High School takes second place in NWSBA Mock Trial Tournament

By SUBURBAN LIFE

Members of the Timothy Christian High School Mock Trial team receive the second-place trophy at the Northwest Suburban Bar Association’s 17th annual Mock Trial Invitational on Feb. 21. Also pictured are Neil H. Good, president of the NWSBA on the back far left and Jay Andrew on the far right. Andrew is a co-chair of the Mock Trial event. (Submitted photo)

ELMHURST — Dressed in appropriate courtroom attire, dozens of high schoolers gathered in Rolling Meadows on Feb. 21 to argue the case of People v. Norton, while competing in the 17th annual Northwest Suburban Bar Association’s Mock Trial Invitational.

Elmhurst's Timothy Christian High School took second place in the competition. As a prize, each team member earning tuition waivers of $3,000 for John Marshall Law School in Chicago.

“This is a great tournament,” Timothy Christian Coach Scott Roelofs said in a press release. “Sometimes the organizers (of other mock trial competitions) will have lawyers be the judges. But when you have the judge, and it’s actually his courtroom, that’s neat. It always makes it kind of special.”

Timothy Christian High School's Josh Bootsma also tied with Julia Spathis of Highland Park High School for “Outstanding Witness.”

Timothy Christian is a traditional powerhouse in Mock Trial, according to the NWSBA. The team took second in the state the previous two years, after coming in first in the NWSBA contest those same years.

Cook County judges stayed late that Thursday to preside over the event, and more than 40 attorneys from the NWSBA evaluated the defense and prosecution teams and otherwise assisted the young people, from 24 high schools from throughout the state.

The St. Charles North High School team took top honors.

The wins mean more than added momentum headed into the state competition, to be held Saturday and Sunday at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As has been the case for the past three years, each member of the top three teams also received tuition waivers to John Marshall Law School in Chicago, which co-sponsored the event.

This year’s case was People v. Norton, a criminal case involving allegedly stolen photographs of Abraham Lincoln. The Northwest Suburban Bar Association’s competition was moved from its traditional Saturday morning spot to a weekday afternoon-evening, because of the closures of suburban Cook County courthouses on Saturdays.

“We wanted to keep the real-life setting of the courthouse,” said Mock Trial Committee Co-chair Richard Karwaczka in a press release. “We believe high school students get a lot out of not only preparing for and participating in the competition but also participating in the courthouse environment itself, with actual judges hearing the cases and providing guidance.”