Competition Overview

Since 2012, the YMCA National Judicial Competition (NJC) strives to develop Youth and Government teens into competent, active, civic-minded citizens through a hands-on Mock Trial and Appellate Moot Court program. NJC takes place in Chicago at the end of the summer each year.

This is accomplished through the following objectives:

• Encourages collaboration by presenting case arguments as a team, and respectfully debating opposing teams from other states
• Increases confidence in presentation and reasoning skills as well as knowledge of the judicial system in the United States.
• Cultivates long-term engagement and support of YMCA and Youth & Government programs

Questions? Please Contact Whitney Chandler, NJC Planning Committee Chair, at wchandler@ymcaokc.org.

Team Registration & Planning

All information for team registration and planning can be found on the 2019 registration site:

2019 NJC Registration Site

Registration for NJC will open in May 2019. There will be a Trip Director Planning Webinar on Tuesday, April 30th from 11:00am – 12:00pm ET. To join the webinar, follow this link:

NJC Trip Director Webinar
NJC Planning Guide (PDF)

NJC Fee: $475 per person

Extended Stay:  If you would like to come in early or leave late, the hotel rate will be granted to your group for three days prior and three days after the conference.  The rate is about $175 a night, $200 with taxes and fees.

Single Rooms for Adults: $300 extra fee if you would like your own adult room

Appellate & Mock Trial Teams

Each state is allowed to bring a maximum of 4 Mock Trial Teams (5-8 students per team) and 6 Appellate Teams (2 students per team), in even numbered increments for each section.  For example, a state can bring 4 Mock Trial Teams, and 2 Appellate Teams.

If an odd number of teams is needed, states are asked to partner with each other to ensure an even number. For example, North Carolina only wants to bring 1 Mock Trial, so they find out South Carolina wants to bring 3, so it makes an even number. This helps ensure even numbers for planning rounds, etc.

If you need to bring an odd number of teams in Mock or Appellate, please let us know and we can help to find you a state in the same situation.