Nottingham High School Wins 2025 New York State Bar Association Mock Trial Competition
5.20.2025
In a close final, Syracuse’s Nottingham High School beat New York City’s Hunter College High School to win the New York State Bar Association Mock Trial Competition.
Teams faced off in the fictional civil case, Leyton Manns vs. Sandy Townes, in which school Superintendent Leyton Manns accused student Sandy Townes of creating AI-generated content to derail the superintendent’s career and state Senate campaign. This was supposedly in retaliation for the superintendent cutting funding for the high school’s Computer Science Club. Nottingham High School represented the plaintiff while Hunter College High School took the side of the defense.
The final match was held at the James T. Foley Federal Courthouse in Albany, with Justice Eddie J. McShan of the Appellate Division, Third Department, presiding.
“I run a mock trial program for junior high school students, and I hope they perform when they get to the high school level as excellent as you did today,” Justice McShan said after the trial concluded. “You made my job so very difficult determining whether or not Sandy Townes was liable.”
Justice McShan praised how professional both teams were, how the witnesses performed, and how the attorneys responded and reacted in real time. He congratulated them all on “a job very well done,” noting that he hopes to see them in courtrooms in the future.
Nottingham High School erupted into cheers, hugs and happy tears when Justice McShan handed down the verdict.
“This year was supposed to be a rebuilding year, and I thought we were going to be out in January,” said senior Henry Zhe-Heimerman, who delivered the closing argument. “To see how far everybody’s progressed, to win the state championship, to do the best that we could possibly do – it means so much. I cannot express how happy I am for all of us.”
The team also made sure to praise their faculty adviser, Don Little, public speaking coach Dick Heimerman, and legal advisers Ed Luban and Peggy Conan. “Without them, we would have lost in our first round,” said senior Alex Minta. “We would not be anywhere within a hundred miles of Albany without them.”
“This has just been a wonderful experience,” said sophomore Sam Lockwood, who was an attorney in the final. “Everyone is incredibly supportive, and we’ve all got each other’s back. We all bought in at the right time and clearly that worked out for us.”
The statewide Mock Trial program and tournament is sponsored by the New York State Bar Association and funded in part by a grant from The New York Bar Foundation. It brings thousands of high school students together each year to learn about the law, practice public speaking and develop life skills. The state tournament with eight regional teams takes place in Albany each May.
Check out our Flickr album with pictures from the Mock Trial Finals.
