May 17-18, 2025

ALL ONLINE

Volunteer as a Judge or Juror

Have fun. Make a difference. Judge mock trial.

Ready to sign-up?

The Spring Leagues

Over the last four years, online mock trial kept students connected and learning at a time when they needed it the most. With the pandemic behind us, we are left with a platform that is, not only, a terrific supplement to in-person learning, but one that can help eliminate financial barriers to participating in mock trial. 

In 2023 we debuted the Empire Spring Leagues: two leagues to accommodate teams of all experience levels, giving schools one last chance to compete before summer break. The competition is free for Title I schools and just $325 for all other teams, helping make the Spring Leagues accessible to all.

View the Spring online trial schedule below and please sign up volunteer today!

The Schedule

  • Saturday, May 17


    9:45 AM ET - Round 1
    2:45 PM ET - Round 2

  • Sunday, May 18


    9:45 AM ET - Round 3
    2:45 PM ET - Round 4

  • Saturday, June 7


    9:45 AM ET - Final 8
    2:45 PM ET - Final 4

  • Sunday, June 8


    12 PM ET - Championship Round

How Does Online Mock Trial Work?

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  • Students present from their own devices, located in either their home, school, or wherever they choose to setup their virtual courtroom.

  • Trials take place via Zoom.

    • Each side calls three witnesses at trial.

    • This year’s case is inspired by the tragic submersible that imploded at sea—it is an Empire original case.

  • We create a custom weblink for each judge and juror (hopefully, you), which will provide everything you’ll need to volunteer on competition day:

    • Case materials

    • Option to check-in

    • Link for judge orientation (Zoom meeting room)

    • Digital ballot to score the trial and provide written feedback for the students

    • Link for virtual courtroom (also a Zoom meeting room)

  • At the end of the trial, Empire’s PROcess software will tabulate the results and make your scores and written feedback available to the students.

  • Each trials last 2.5 - 3 hours and is preceded by a 30 minute orientation—you should expect to spend approximately 4 hours volunteering.

What Do I Need to Judge?

  • A laptop or desktop computer. We ask that you not judge on a mobile device or tablet;

    • Note: We recommend selecting the largest screen / monitor you have available to watch the trial

  • A computer that has the Zoom application downloaded on it. In other words, one that meets Zoom’s system requirements;

  • Internet that is fast enough to support Zoom (read more here)—please test your internet connectivity before the trial;

  • Ability to print an Empire Mock Trial scorecard—while you’ll input all scores on the computer, we want you to have a hard copy of your scorecard in case of a technology failure;

  • Patience! 😊 Tech issues are inevitable and we all need to be patient and accepting them of them!

What Do I Not Need But Would Enhance My Judging Experience?

  • A second electronic device—it can be a laptop, mobile phone or tablet—to score the trial, while you are watching the students on your primary device.

Ready to sign-up?

To register, click the button below and create an account on our Judge Portal (or log-in with your existing account).