The Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program hosted its annual High School Mock Trial State Championship from Tuesday to Thursday, March 10 to 12. This year, students explored a civil case that involved a suit brought by professional tennis player, Sloane Wilder, who sued Brogus Basin Ski Resort when they were severely injured in a collision with a snowmaking machine.

For 2026, 316 high school students from 38 teams registered to participate in the mock trial competition. 180 teachers, judges, attorneys, and other community leaders donated their time to serve as coaches, advisors, judges, and competition staff.

This year, 16 teams advanced to state, from regional competitions held in Blackfoot, Lewiston, and Boise. These teams participated in four rounds of competition on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Ada County Courthouse with the top two teams facing off for the state championship at the Idaho Supreme Court on Thursday morning. The following schools participated in Idaho’s state tournament:

• The Ambrose School (Meridian, two teams)
• Boise High School (A Teams)
• Greenleaf Friends Academy (A Team)
• Lewiston High School (A Team)
• Liberty Charter School (Nampa, two teams)
• The Logos School (Moscow, two teams)  
• Mountain Home High School (A team)
• Renaissance High School (Meridian, two teams)
• Shelley High School (Shelley)
• Timberline High School (Boise)
• Troy High School

The following teams placed in the top five for Idaho’s state tournament:

2026 State Champion: The Ambrose School (B Team)

State Runner Up: The Logos School (A Team)

Third Place: Liberty Charter School (A Team)

Fourth Place: Mountain Home High School (B Team)

Fifth Place: Mountain Home High School (A Team)

Mock trial team members who played roles as attorneys and witnesses had the opportunity to be recognized for individual awards. For each trial through four rounds of competition, each judge had the opportunity to select the students they believed gave the best performances for the trial. The top witnesses and attorneys for the 2026 competition include:

As part of the state competition, Idaho’s Mock Trial Program, in partnership with the Professionalism & Ethics Section, developed the Civility & Ethics Award, created to highlight the importance of civility and professionalism among teams participating in mock trial. During the state competitions teams observe and interact with each other and submit their nomination for the award. For 2026, Greenleaf Friends Academy was chosen by the other teams as the recipient of this year’s award. This is the second year in a row that they have received this award.

Idaho’s mock trial program also hosts a Courtroom Artist Contest as part of the program. In 2028, eight courtroom artists participated in the contest. Artists observed trials and submitted sketches that depict courtroom scenes. The top three entries for 2026 were:

First Place: Charlie Hamblack, Boise High School

Second Place: Abigail Liu, Timberline High School

Third Place: Sylvia Olvalle, Greenleaf Friends Academy

For the second time, we hosted a Courtroom Journalist Contest as part of the program. In 2026, five courtroom journalists participated in the contest. Journalists observed trials from the perspective of a news reporter. They wrote articles reporting on their observations during the second round. The top three entries for 2026 were:

First Place: Grayson Williams, Boise High School

Second Place: Jerrick Edwardsen, Lewiston High School

Third Place: Kenna David, Greenleaf Friends Academy

The winning entry is printed at the end of this column.

The Ambrose School will represent Idaho at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in May in Des Moines, Iowa. Charlie Hambalek will represent Idaho in the National Courtroom Artist Contest while Grayson Williams will represent Idaho in the National Courtroom Journalist Contest. 

The Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program would like to thank the sponsors and volunteers who helped during the 2026 mock trial season. We couldn’t do our important work without your support.

Plans will soon begin for the 2027 mock trial season. For more information about how to get involved with the mock trial program, visit idahomocktrial.org or contact Carey Shoufler, Idaho Law Foundation Law Related Education Director, at cshoufler@isb.idaho.gov.

For 30 years, Carey A. Shoufler has worked in education and communication in an array of settings. In her current role, Carey has spent the last 17 years working as the Law Related Education Director for the Idaho Law Foundation. Carey utilizes her experience as an educator to provide leadership and management for a statewide civic education program. She obtained her bachelor’s degrees in English literature from Mills College in Oakland, California and her master’s degree in instructional design from Boise State University. A native Idahoan, Carey returned to Boise in 1999 after working for 13 years as a teacher and educational administrator in Boston. When not working, Carey likes to walk her dogs, knit, read, bake pies, and spend time with her grandchildren.

Read the winning Courtroom Journalist entry from Grayson Williams, Boise High School.

Sloane Wilder v. Brogus Basin Case’s Long-Awaited Verdict to be Delivered Shortly

BOISE, ID, March 11, 2026

Tennis star Sloane Wilder in Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho is glancing back at the jury deliberation room with impatience, as his verdict deciding whether the ski hotspot Brogus Basin Ski Resort will be held accountable for his injuries or not is about to be delivered. Wilder sustained career ending injuries on Brogus’ slopes, and this decision will dictate the future of the ski resort.

Immediately following the start of Wilder’s trial, the story began to be laid out by the attorneys moving about the courtroom, pacing in front of the young jury. As many might know Wilder from his famed tennis career, competing in circuits around the globe, today the focus is on his day trip to Brogus.

Sloane Wilder rode the chairlift to his first run of the day, a black diamond Crusty’s Couloir. Very bubbly on the stand, Ms. Carnap, manager of Brogus Basin ski resort, spoke through her blonde wavy hair to testify to the weather on the day of Sloane Wilder’s incident “it was very sunny, no clouds in the sky, and there were 10 inches of fresh snow.” 

Skiing into funnel-like terrain through a grove of trees, Wilder struck Brogus’ snow making machine at an incredible speed, sustaining a long list of injuries. These include a concussion, cracked ribs, dislocated shoulder, ligament damage, wrist fractures, and more. He was then promptly driven down to a nearby hospital, not Life Flighted by helicopter contrary to his demands. These injuries made his tournament income now unattainable. 

The story thickens when more details are brought into view. One witness, Jordan Ellis, testifies to the quality of Wilder’s snow gear, criticizing his binding settings and his helmet. This quality of gear corresponds to a lower level of skier, like an intermediate that Wilder claims to be, though Crusty’s Couloir was clearly marked as an expert level run with warning signs.

During a moment that struck the judge’s jaw open, the plaintiff’s attorney Bixby instructed Casey Kowalski to turn a warning sign rightside back and attempt to read it. This was meant to represent how a skier would be able to read the warning sign that had fallen in front of the snowmaking machine. It was impossible to read through the paper, and this scene stunned the court. The sole unfazed onlooker to this ordeal happened to be Sloane Wilder, his nonchalance working in his favor.

Earlier in the trial, Sloane Wilder fixed his chestnut hair walking up to the stand, and multiple members of the audience crooked their heads to examine the aloof figure. He brought an air of intrigue to the courtroom, everybody wanted to see the star athlete.

If the defense’s claim that Brogus should not be held accountable for this injury as signs were marked and policies were followed is upheld by the jury, Brogus’ future will continue on as the community’s favorite ski spot for years to come. Meanwhile, if the jury upholds the plaintiff’s argument that Brogus was negligent beyond reasonable doubt, meaning they turned a blind eye to the danger more than enough to cause this incident due to their lack of care, Brogus will enact stricter safety policies and their slopes can be skied with less worry. 

After a retelling of Icarus and his hubris during closing arguments, plaintiff compared Sloane Wilder to the Greek legend. In the legend, Icarus had wings of wax, and he was warned to not let them melt by inflating his ego and flying too high, too close to the sun. They both “flew too close to the sun,” Attorney Smalley compared the two, and “lost control.” The defense, in their improvised rebuttal closing, switched the subject and compared the Ski Resort to the story of Icarus, spinning the story on its head. Now the subject was of how close Brogus “flew” to the sun with the hazards they ignored, which left jury members smiling. The witnesses leaned forward in their seats as Honorable judge Fenello sent out the jury to deliberate. As they prepare their verdict, the air is tense with anticipation for the future of the ski resort.