Courtroom Journalist

The Idaho Courtroom Journalist Contest is open to students in grades 9 to 12 and allows students to experience a courtroom setting from the perspective of a news reporter.

After completion of the state contest, the top three journalists receive cash prizes for their entries. The top journalist is eligible to represent Idaho at the National Courtroom Journalist Contest.

Registration

• Journalist Contestants can participate as part of a mock trial team or enter on their own if their school does not have a mock trial team.
• There is no cap on the number of courtroom journalists a school or group can register.  The registration fee is $30 per contestant.
• Journalist who are not registering as part of a team must use this form to register for the contest.
• Courtroom Journalist Contestants may not participate in any other role on the mock trial team without permission from the Mock Trial Director.
• Contestants must complete the registration by the registration deadline.

Courtroom Journalist Rules & Resources

Courtroom journalists are bound by the rules outlined in the Idaho Mock Trial Rules of Competition, particularly Rule 10. A journalist who participates with a team will still compete solely on their own efforts and will not be considered as part of their school’s team in terms of advancement to the state or national contests.

More information on writing a news story can be found in the Anatomy of a New Story document and the sample submissions.

Submission Guidelines & Judging Criteria

Courtroom Journalists must supply their own materials for writing their articles. Laptops or tablets may be used in the courtroom to draft articles so long as the device follows the guidelines for technology use outlined in the Idaho Mock Trial Rules of Competition.

Articles must follow these parameters:

• Articles must report on what courtroom journalists observed during Round 2 of their regional competition or Round 3 of the state competition.
• Journalists must draft their articles independently without the help of any other source or person.
• Articles must be in the voice of the reporter covering the trial.
• No article may exceed 850 words, excluding the journalists name and code.
• Journalists may use a dictionary and/or a thesaurus in completing their articles but may not take a dictionary and/or thesaurus into the courtroom.
• Journalists may use any publicly available source of information in completed their articles.

Articles are evaluated and scored anonymously by a judge or judging panel. The highest scored article will be named the winner. This sample scoresheet includes information on how sketches are scored.

Individual Registration

If you are entering the Courtroom Journalist Contest without a team, please click the registration button below.

For questions about the Journalism Contest, email amckee@isb.idaho.gov