On the Road to Nationals

On March 5, 2017 John Adams High School Team "Not Necessarily" won the Indiana State Mock Trial Competition and earned a bid to the National High School Mock Trial Tournament in Hartford, Connecticut in May 11-13, 2017.

"Not Necessarily" has its roots in the spring of 2013, as several team members agreed to form a team for the following year, when they would be first year students at Adams. Some of them hoped and dreamed of winning the state title before they finished high school. The team has adopted a new name every year: "Ad Infinitum [To Infinity]" 2013-2014, "Et Ultra [And Beyond]" 2014-2015, and "Aurora Piscator [Dawn Fisherman]" 2015-2016. For the 2016-2017 competition, they selected the name "Not Necessarily," because of Brendan Hayner-Slattery's penchant for responding to almost any statement with the words "not necessarily."

The team competed in their first year without a coach and missed making state competition by only a few points. They have placed among the top five teams in Indiana each of the last three years. While the core membership of the team has remained intact, some members have moved on to other pursuits and new members have joined. They were coached during their second and third years by Professor Jay Tidmarsh of the Notre Dame Law School before being coached this year by Judge John Broden and Ms. Judy Shroyer.