The West Morris Mendham High School mock trial team, winners of the Morris County Mock Trial Competition for a 21st consecutive year, were honored May 1 during the 2026 Law Day celebration in Courtroom No. 1 of the historic Morris County Courthouse.
The team extended its record-setting run in the county competition and advanced to the New Jersey State Bar Foundation’s Vincent J. Apruzzese High School Mock Trial Competition, placing second among 214 teams statewide.
Morris County Commissioner Thomas J. Mastrangelo presented certificates of honor to the students on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners as Morris County Bar Association President Lawrence S. Cutalo presented honors on behalf of the Morris County Bar Foundation.
“As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, it’s worth reflecting on the freedoms we have as Americans — the ability to speak our views and express our minds. While these are freedoms our forefathers fought to secure for every citizen, it is up to every generation to understand, respect and protect those rights, or we risk losing them,” said Commissioner Mastrangelo. “On behalf of the county commissioners, I am proud to congratulate these students on becoming Morris County Mock Trial champions for the 21st consecutive year.”
View Photos from Morris County Law Day 2026
The West Morris Mendham team included Nathan Achaempong, Anthony Khakhiashvili, Cole Smith, Tess Kutlu, Julia Sun, Gemma Hong, Kiersten Rohde, Kira Mandel, Elle Murphy and Zachary Parks. The students were coached by teacher Eric Heditsch, in his 26th year, and attorney William Connelly, who has volunteered for 22 years.
The program featured opening remarks by the Hon. James M. DeMarzo, presiding judge of the General Equity Division in the Morris/Sussex Superior Court Vicinage, and a keynote address by the Hon. Lorraine M. Augostini of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court, who reflected on the 2026 theme, “The Rule of Law and the American Dream.”
“The American Dream invites us to reflect not only on our nation’s history, but also on our state’s history over the past 250 years,” said Augostini. “As we commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, we should also remember that New Jersey’s first state constitution was ratified two days earlier, on July 2.”
Judge Augostini congratulated the students and reflected on how her own participation in mock trial helped inspire her legal career. She also highlighted the story of Mary Katharine Goddard, the Baltimore printer who published and distributed the signed Declaration of Independence, as an example of the courage and contributions that helped shape the nation.
The ceremony included choral performances of the national anthem and “God Bless America” by the Mayo Performing Arts Center Performing Arts Company, an audition-based group of students who perform at community events, hospitals and nonprofit programs throughout the region.
Among those in attendance were Sheriff James M. Gannon; First Assistant Prosecutor Maggie Calderwood; Chief Assistant Prosecutors Christopher Schellhorn and Meg Rodriguez; and Deputy Chief of Detectives Jan-Michael Monrad of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, along with members of the bench, bar and local legal community.
Celebrated annually on May 1, Law Day was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1958 as a day of national dedication to the principles of government under law. Law Day is sponsored by the Superior Court of New Jersey, the Morris/Sussex Vicinage, the Office of the Ombudsman, and the Vicinage Advisory Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement in collaboration with the Morris County Bar Association and Morris County Bar Foundation.
Article courtesy of the County of Morris.