Lakeland Christian wins national high school mock trial championship

The title is the state's first since 1992 and caps a program championed by Rep. Jennifer Canady and supported by the local legal community

Some talented Lakeland Christian School students recently claimed the 2026 National High School Mock Trial Championship, returning the honor to Florida for the first time since 1992.

"It was absolutely a wonderful experience, a lifelong memory for certain, and it was evidence of lots of hard work by lots of students that hopefully will add to our profession one day," said veteran Lakeland Christian coach Chastity Branham.

More than bragging rights, the championship affirms the vision of Rep. Jennifer Canady. A teacher-lawmaker who is in line to be Speaker of the Florida House, Canady wanted to promote professionalism in aspiring lawyers when she helped found the program more than a decade ago.

A former prosecutor, Branham teaches dual enrollment legal courses at Lakeland Christian and is also a Polk State College criminal justice professor.

For the past 15 years, Canady has served as director of the RISE Institute at Lakeland Christian, (Research, Innovation, STEM Learning, and Entrepreneurship).

“I envisioned a program that would make an impact in the lives of students, certainly, but it has surpassed anybody’s expectations,” Rep. Canady said. “It has been such a privilege to be involved for such a long time.”

The big payoff came early last month when the Lakeland Christian traveled to Des Moines for the national championships and defeated Georgia’s Northview High School in the final round.

In a strange twist, the teams competed in the Polk County Courthouse in Iowa, hundreds of miles from the Polk County Courthouse where Lakeland Christian conducted a few practice sessions.

That doesn’t mean fate preordained a victory, Branham assures. Lakeland Christian was in a heavy rebuilding year after graduation took a toll. Zack Branham, (the coach’s son) was the only veteran, and his experience was limited to being a witness.

He was obviously paying attention. The former Lakeland Christian senior took home the Top Attorney award for his performance.

“Zack is going to be attending the University of Florida, and if he could get to law school tomorrow, he would be there,” said his proud mother. “He eats, sleeps, and breathes the law.”

The Branham family history is rooted in mock trial competition. Chastity Branham competed on a mock trial championship team at Stetson. Zack’s older sister, a recent UCLA Law graduate, competed for Lakeland Christian. Every member of that team went on to graduate from a law school, Branham says. Overall, between 15 and 20 former program participants went on to graduate from law school, and a few practice locally, she says.

“It’s Columbia, it’s UCLA, it’s Stetson, it’s Florida State, there are just so many seeds of law that have been planted in these students,” Branham says.

In addition to Zack Branham, this year’s team members included seniors Griffin Byrd, Brody Denton, and Maddie Powers; juniors Luke Cardosi and Reese Collins; and sophomores Dallas Denton, Anna Morin, and Audrey Volheim.

Branham and Canady say the local legal community also deserves a victory lap.

Branham’s attorney husband, Kenneth Branham, 10th Judicial Circuit Judge Melissa Gravitt and several of her colleagues, local civil trial attorneys, and prosecutors who work for State Attorney Bill Haas eagerly pitched in to assist with logistics or to give valuable feedback.

The latter, Branham’s former colleagues, “are my go-to,” Branham says.

“After I’ve written the material and worked the case with the students, I can only scrimmage them so many times before all of my tricks get used,” Branham laughs.

Many of this year’s mock trial team members are in accelerated AP courses and many participate in other activities, including dance and the school musical. Many volunteer for a youth court unaffiliated with the school, Branham says.

Which is to say, motivation is never an issue, she says.

“They will work as hard as we will allow them to,” Branham says. “Sometimes, that’s to their detriment.”

Just before the final round, both teams were given a practice room and 30 minutes to prepare. Instead of practicing, Branham offered a prayer and told the students to stop and appreciate the moment. She thinks it helped them relax and maintain their poise.

The feedback from judges was typical, she said.

“They said, ‘I have practicing attorneys in my courtroom that don’t know the evidence code like you high school students do,’” Branham said. “It should fill our profession with encouragement about the generation to come.”