Announcements

2026 Hunterdon County Mock Trial Competition

The 2026 Hunterdon County High School Mock Trial Competition held its opening rounds on Saturday, January 31, 2026, and its final round on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Hunterdon Central High School, North Hunterdon High School, and Voorhees High School each had teams competing this year. Hunterdon County students competing in the Courtroom Artist program, also sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, were present at both rounds of the Competition to sketch the trials. The teams prepare for competition with the help and guidance of both teacher coaches and local attorneys who volunteer their time to coach. Hunterdon Central had teacher coach Semira Markos and attorney coach Bhaveen Jani, Esq. from Stark & Stark. North Hunterdon High School had teacher coach Matthew Bisco and attorney coach David Culley, Esq., Superintendent at Veteran’s Haven North. Voorhees High School had teacher coach Karlie Leonelli and attorney coaches retired Judge David Issenman from Skoloff & Wolfe and retired attorney Jeffrey Raefski, Esq.The Courtroom Artists were from North Hunterdon High School and were guided by teacher coach Ralph Calabrese.

The High School Mock Trial Competition provides a fictitious case in which the students play the parts of both attorneys and witnesses. The cases differ from year to year. This year’s case was a criminal case, State of New Jersey v. Devon Ransom, dealing with “swatting” (the false report of emergencies) at a local coffee shop.

In the opening round each team engaged in two trials. The initial rounds were set up so that each school would “play” every other school. Following the competitive opening round, the teams with the two best records, Hunterdon Central High School and Voorhees High School, advanced to the final competition.

On Tuesday, February 3rd, the finals of the Hunterdon County Mock Trial took place at the Historic Courthouse in Flemington. The Honorable John J. Burke, III, PJ Family and the Honorable Robert Ballard, PJ Civil, presided over the final competition. In a close match, Hunterdon Central High School defeated Voorhees High School, and advanced to the regional level of the New Jersey State Mock Trial Competition. Anaya Anand from Hunterdon Central was named as best overall attorney and Isabella Alvarez from Hunterdon Central was named as best overall witness.

The 2025-2026 Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition is sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and the Hunterdon County Bar Association. Our county program was administrated by John Macce, Esq. of Macce & Cresti, Anne Mohan, Esq., of Riker Danzig LLP and Lyn Brokaw, Executive Director of the Hunterdon County Bar Association.

The 2026 Hunterdon Central Mock Trial Team
Left to right back row: Meagan Kemunto, Anaya Anand, Raychel Khusid, Isabella Alvarez
Left to right front row: Lhian De Vera, Eva Graziano, Keya Joshi

2026 Voorhees Mock Trial
Back Row Left to Right: Camila Lescano, Seton Branca, Elissa Baumgarten, Allison Cohen, Christian Ventura
Front Row Left to Right: Tavishi Nori, Jazlyn Collins, Charlotte Mosier, Katja Furst
Not pictured: Stephany Calle and Zander Gizzi

 

2026 North Hunterdon Mock Trial
Back Row Left to Right: Chase Skinner, Avery Messinger, Olivia Hall          
Front Row Left to Right:  Neptune Mahoney, Lucy Harris

2026 North Hunterdon Mock Trial
Back Row Left to Right: Angelika Rizza, Anusha Kar, Elizabeth Homulak
Front Row Left to Right:  Albert Fung, Saanvi Sachin

Not Pictured: Prathika Deepak Maruvapalli, Eun Chae Song, Sastha Senthil Kumar

 

2026 Courtroom Artists
Back Row Left to Right: Ivy Sorhage, Caden Schmidt and Ava Van Iinwegen
Front Row Left to Right: Aarthi Kendra, Elizabeth Spann,and Greta Vaitauskas

2026 Hunterdon County Mock Trial Artist Drawings

2025 Hunterdon County Law Day Celebration

Law Day Celebration on May 1st recognized Hunterdon County students and Hunterdon County service organizations

The Hunterdon County Bar Association sponsored a Law Day event on Wednesday, May 1st from 5:00-7:00 PM at the Hunterdon County Justice Center in Flemington. The theme for the 2025 Law Day was “Out of Many, One,” celebrating “how the Constitution bridges our differences and fosters unity through civic duties like government service and community programs.”

Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson and Christopher Vaccaro, Esq., of Kearns Rotolo Law Co-chairs of the Hunterdon County Bar Association Law Day Committee, along with Taylor DeSantis, Esq., of Rozin Golinder Law, LLC, Hunterdon County Bar Association President welcomed all in attendance and explained the significance of Law Day and this year’s topic.  The event featured a panel discussion entitled “Local Resources for the Public Interest and Common Good,” which provided the opportunity for representatives from several community service organizations to present information on some of the many programs and services available in the County.

Awards were presented to the county’s Mock Trial champion team from Hunterdon Central Regional High School, and the Mock Trial teams from North Hunterdon and Voorhees high schools. In addition, the Hunterdon County Bar Association presented their 2025 Mock Trial scholarships to Ella Partanna from North Hunterdon High School, Caitlin Carr from Voorhees High School, and Emma Howell from Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

Before refreshments, the program concluded with the ceremonial “building’ of a community quilt, with squares representing 42 county service organizations, the many coming together to form and represent the one community.

The Law Day program is cosponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and made possible through funding from IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey.

Hunterdon County Quilt

Hunterdon County 2025 Mock Trial Scholarship Recipients

Left to Right: Caitlin Carr, Voorhees; Ella Partanna, North Hunterdon; Emma Howell, Hunterdon Central; Taylor DeSantis, Esq., Hunterdon County Bar Association President

Left to right: Christopher Vaccaro, Esq., Co-Chair of the Hunterdon County Bar Association Law Day; Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson, Co-Chair of the Hunterdon County Bar Association Law Day Committee; and Taylor DeSantis, Esq., Hunterdon County Bar Association President with the community quilt.

2025 Hunterdon County Mock Trial Competition

The 2025 Hunterdon County High School Mock Trial Competition held its opening rounds on Saturday, February 1, 2025 and its final round on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.  Hunterdon Central High School, North Hunterdon High School, and Voorhees High School each had teams competing this year. The teams prepare for competition with the help and guidance of both teacher coaches and local attorneys who volunteer their time to coach.

The High School Mock Trial Competition provides a fictitious case in which the students play the parts of both attorneys and witnesses.  The cases differ from year to year.  This year’s case was a civil case dealing with product liability.

In the opening round each team engaged in two trials.  The initial rounds were set up so that each school would “play” every other school.  Following the very competitive opening round, the teams with the two best records, Hunterdon Central High School and North Hunterdon High School, advanced to the final’s competition.

On Wednesday, February 5th, the finals of the Hunterdon County Mock Trial took place at the Historic Courthouse in Flemington.  The Honorable John J. Burke, III, PJ Family and the Honorable Robert Ballard, PJ Civil, presided over the final competition.  In a very close match, Hunterdon Central High School defeated North Hunterdon High School, and advanced to the regional level of the New Jersey State Mock Trial Competition.  Yesim Gokmen from Hunterdon Central was named as best overall attorney and Andrew Partanna from North Hunterdon was named as best overall witness.

The 2024-2025 Vincent J. Apruzzese Mock Trial Competition is sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation and the Hunterdon County Bar Association.  Our county program was administrated by John Macce, Esq. of Macce & Cresti, Anne Mohan, Esq., of Riker Danzig LLP and Lyn Brokaw, Executive Director of the Hunterdon County Bar Association.  A special thank you to all of the Vicinage XIII Judges who served as Mock Trial judges, as well as HCBA members Judge David Issenman, J.S.C.(ret.), David Culley, Esq., and Bhaveen Jani, Esq. who volunteered their time as attorney coaches.

The 2025 Hunterdon Central Mock Trial Team
Left to right back row: Eva Graziano, Raychel Khusid, Avery Fulton, Meagan Kemunto, Brandon Laohoo
Left to right front row: Ayushi Ghan, Emma Howell, Yesim Gokmen, , Ryan Jacob

The 2025 North Hunterdon Mock Trial Team
Left to Right back row: Albert Fung, Andrew Partanna, Chase Skinner, Neptune Mahoney
Left to right front row: Saanvi Sachin, Dina Namjoo, Lucy Harris, Anusha Kar and Ella Partanna
Not pictured: Elizabeth Homulak

2025 Voorhees Mock Trial
Left to Right: Aaditya Aiyer, Audrey Devine, Caitlin Carr, Julia Yarton, Dylan Rizzo, Katelyn York,
Christian Ventura, Dory Goad and Jazlyn Collins

Holiday Party 2024

Thank you to all who joined us last night at Dolce for a great 2024 Holiday Party!  We gathered for social time, wrapped donated presents and shared a great meal together. A special thank you from the United Way of Flemington for the generous donations to help their Holiday Hands fundraising. Enjoy the photos below and have a great holiday season!

 

DV Mini Marathon 10.09.24

On Wednesday, October 9th, the Hunterdon County Bar Association sponsored a Domestic Violence Mini Marathon at the Hunterdon County Justice Center.  The afternoon began with a two credit Training for Domestic Violence Representation followed by the Vicinage XIII Professionalism Seminar, “The Ethics of Advising and Communicating with Domestic Violence Victims”.  The afternoon concluded with a social, refreshments donated by the Shop Rite of Clinton. Thank you to all involved in the planning, most especially Alisa Grossman, Esq. and the attorneys and staff at Legal Services of Northwest Jersey; William Rudnik, Esq. of Gebhardt & Kiefer; Rachel Campbell, Esq. of DiFrancesco Bateman; Rachel Ishak, MSW, LSW of the NJ Brain Injury Alliance; Iris Beatriz Martinez-Monge, J.D. and the staff at SAFE in Hunterdon; Merrill Mezzacappa, Esq. and the Board of Trustees from SAFE in Hunterdon as well as Jeannie Colalillo and Shop Rite of Flemington.

HCBA Installation Dinner and Awards Ceremony 09.18.24

On Wednesday, September 18th, HCBA held their annual Installation Dinner, Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony at the Copper Hill Country Club in Ringoes.  The 2024/2025 Board of Directors was installed by the Honorable Hany A. Mawla, JAD.



2024 HCBA Board of Directors

Officers

President: Taylor DeSantis

President Elect: Christopher Vaccaro

Vice President: Allison Roberts

Treasurer: David Culley

Secretary: Prosecutor Renee Robeson


Trustees

Immediate Past President: Lisa Browning

NJSBA Trustee: John Macce

Mary Ann Bauer

Michelle Cresti

Alisa Grossman

Claudia Marchese

Blake Rush


Awards were presented to the following members:


2024 Professionalism Award: Steven J. Karch, Esq.


2024 Trailblazer Award: The Honorable Ann R. Bartlett, J.C.S.(ret)


2024 Lifetime Achievement Award: Robert J. Shanahan, Jr., Esq.


  












Left to right: The Honorable Ann R. Bartlett, J.C.S.(ret), Robert J. Shanahan, Jr., Esq. and Steven J. Karch, Esq.




Below: The Honorable Robert Ballard, PJ Civil and Taylor DeSantis, Esq., HCBA President