Newton Mock Trial team successfully defends county title
The team from Newton High School competed in the opening rounds of the statewide regional tournament, beating Warren County but losing to Morris County.
Newton /
| 29 Mar 2021 | 02:39
Travis Nunziato (Photo provided)
The Newton High School Mock Trial team successfully defended its title as Sussex County Champions of the Vincent J. Apruzzese New Jersey High School Mock Trial Competition.
The team’s volunteer attorney coach is Travis W. Nunziato, a lawyer in Laddey Clark & Ryan’s Personal Injury Practice Group. This season marks Travis’s fourth year volunteering as coach to Newton’s team.
In all four years, the team has advanced to the final round of the county tournament. For the past three years, the team has won the county tournament and maintained the title of Sussex County Champions. In 2019, the team, led by Nunziato, placed third in the state out of over 150 teams.
On Feb. 4, the team competed in the opening rounds of the statewide regional tournament. The team beat Warren County in its first trial and lost to Morris County in its second. Ultimately, the team ended its season as Sussex County Champions and Northern Region Semi-Finalists.
This year’s competition has been conducted entirely in a virtual format.
“Though the virtual format has presented some unique challenges as a coach, it gives the students an opportunity to experience how real-life attorneys are practicing law during the pandemic,” said Nunziato.