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The mock trial team competed at a high level among 50 of the top schools in the country last weekend at the 18th National Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament at Hamline University and the Ramsey County Courthouse in St. Paul, Minn.
Nine Lafayette students faced off against four outstanding teams in four “trials” of the mythical case of State of Midlands vs. Ashley Thornhill. In each trial, students played the roles of attorneys or witnesses to either prosecute or defend the case.
Competition judges included practicing attorneys, law professors, and judges. Judges of the championship round were a Minnesota Supreme Court justice, a Superior Court judge, and Michael Ciresi, a nationally known trial attorney. Competitors’ performances were ranked on a scale of 1-10, with 10 indicating the level of expertise of an experienced attorney or witness. The Lafayette team garnered 79% of its scores at 8 or above. All of the Lafayette attorneys and most of the witnesses were cited as outstanding by the judges.
The Lafayette students were Rachael Blackman ’04, a neuroscience major from Warwick, R.I. — witness; Megan Cottrell ’03, a government and law major from Doylestown, Pa. — prosecuting attorney; Seanna Dyer ’03, a government and law major from Portland, Maine — defense attorney and prosecuting witness; Robert Fallone ’04 of Bridgewater, N.J. — prosecuting attorney and defense witness; John Landon ’05 of Shrewsbury, N.J. — defense attorney; Kimberly Posocco ’03, a history major from Scranton, Pa. — witness; Steven Schrum ’05 of Flanders, N.J. — timekeeper; William Simmons ’04, an English major from Trenton, N.J. — prosecuting and defense attorney; and Adrienne Stark ’04, an economics and business major from Oxford, N.J. – witness.
“I am so incredibly proud of our team,” says Bruce Allen Murphy, Kirby Professor of Civil Rights and director of mock trial. “Because of our late regional tournament and our late bid to nationals, our students had only a week to prepare the amended case for this tournament while they were also taking mid-terms and finishing papers. The fact that they were able to compete against Northwestern, Boston College, the highly regarded Middle Tennessee State team (whose teams have been in the top ten for each of the past ten years), and the impressive Memphis State team, and be within 10-12 points (out of a possible 1,120) from ending up in the top ten of the tournament makes it clear how close we are after only three years to entering the upper echelons of this highly competitive intellectual activity.”
“I am thoroughly convinced, given the intellectual ability, creativity, and work ethic of our students — many of whom spent countless hours with their teammates preparing over the course of the year for this tournament — that in a matter of a couple of years, we will be a force to be reckoned with on the national mock trial circuit,” he adds.
“All of us learned a lot in our first national competition,” says coach Carol L. Wright, an attorney, adjunct professor of government and law at Lafayette, and Lafayette’s pre-law adviser. “We have a team of extremely bright students who will use this experience to help the other nine members of our team prepare for their national tournament in St. Petersburg, Florida next month. Having seen how the highest-ranking teams handle themselves will help us compete at an even higher level. I have no doubt that we will be back in St. Paul next year, and perform even better in our next tournament.”
The competition is considered so prestigious that many law schools offer merit scholarships to top-ranked mock trial attorneys. Law schools from all over the country placed ads in the tournament program to recruit potential students to their schools, notes Wright. Many undergraduate schools field teams with the hope that they will bring attention to their academic program.
The second team of students, which will compete April 12-14 at the American Intercollegiate Mock Trial Tournament at Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, is comprised of: Dyan Argento ’05, an intended government and foreign languages major from Pittsburgh, Pa.; Jennifer Carton ’04, a government and law major from Interlaken, N.J.; Jonathan Glick ’05 of Hamden, Conn.; Natalie Kamphaus ’05 of Athens, Ga.; Andrew McCarthy ’05 of Marysville, Ohio; Erin Reynolds ’03, a French major from Larchmont, N.Y.; Sarah Rosenzweig ’03, a government and law major from Columbia, S.C.; Sarah Stocker ’03, a government and law major from Harrison, N.Y.; and Benton Wilmoth ’05 of Marysville, Ohio.
To qualify for the two tournaments, Lafayette’s teams entered a tough regional event at Penn State University’s Altoona campus Feb. 15-17, topping the records of schools such as Princeton University, Carnegie-Mellon, Swarthmore College, Cornell University, Dickinson College, St. Vincent College, and Penn State-Altoona. Posocco and Argento received individual awards as Outstanding Witnesses.
“It was really exciting to have both teams qualify,” says Carton. “It was rewarding because we’ve put a lot of hard work into it and it paid off.”
“I was extremely happy with the performance,” adds Stocker. “We had practiced a lot before we went to the tournament, but I was still very impressed. We really rose to the occasion.”
The foundation of the team’s success has been the leadership of both students and faculty.
Says Argento, “There’s been very good leadership, both on the part of the upperclassmen who started the program, and Bruce Murphy and Carol Wright, to make sure that we practice regularly and that everything is put together and polished. Not only is this an academic activity, it’s almost like a performance too. A lot of things need to be refined.”
Carton says she also finds Murphy and Wright to be tremendous assets to the team.
“They are so supportive and always there to help us. You couldn’t ask for better coaches.”
Stocker sees a significant difference between Lafayette’s mock trial team and the many without faculty coaches. “What I like most is getting to work with Bruce Murphy and Carol Wright,” she says. “Because Lafayette is a small school, we get such close interaction with facultyI like having really great coaches who not only guide us, but coach us and are our own personal cheerleaders.”
The students also appreciate the camaraderie and teamwork of the mock trial team.
“Of all the teams we saw this past weekend, I think ours was the most cohesive as a group because we seemed to have the most fun,” says Argento, a member of the Kirby Government and Law Society. “That’s one thing I like about mock trial – everyone works together and we get along well as a team.”
Although mock trial involves much hard work that does not translate into academic credit, the experience is very rewarding, says Carton, who also finds time to participate in intramural sports and the Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, and tennis club teams, as well as the Kirby Government and Law Society and the Newman Association.
“It’s a great group of people,” she says. “It’s a lot of fun and you learn a lot about the legal system while you’re doing it. I really enjoy being part of it and I’m very excited about going to Florida.”
“That’s going to be so awesome,” adds Argento. “It will be a lot of fun.”
The practices and competitions help students improve public speaking skills and other abilities, says Stocker, who also is an assistant to the anthropology and sociology department and a member of Pi Phi sorority. “It teaches you to develop and defend an argument, and to think on your feet. It also teaches you how to act professionally in a professional environment like the courtroom — courtroom decorum.”
Lafayette’s two groups faced trials in Altoona against teams from the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, and St. Vincent’s College twice each, and a team from Dickinson College and Penn State-Altoona, once each. Each Lafayette team won five of eight ballots from the judges of these rounds, placing sixth and seventh in the overall competition.
“I am exceedingly proud of our students’ performance in competition against much more experienced teams,” says Wright. “They are exceptional students who have created an exceptional team. It is a real pleasure to work with this team. They are bright and talented individuals who worked hard, and it showed.”
As in the national tournament, the competition consisted of four rounds of trials against teams from other schools in State of Midlands vs. Ashley Thornhill. Students took the roles of attorneys and witnesses, with the choice of which witnesses to call being an important part of the case strategy. During the tournament, teams played the roles of either the prosecution or the defense, playing each side twice. Teams were scored by two judges in each round on the quality of their presentation, legal knowledge, and ability to adapt to the opposing case and to perform under pressure.
At previous competitions, teams of nine members could compete, but only eight on each team were permitted to participate in the Altoona trials. Rosenzweig and Cottrell volunteered to serve as team timekeepers in order to give younger students a chance to gain experience.
“This example of leadership and team spirit by Sarah and Meg, even to the detriment of their own personal goals, helped Lafayette’s young team to achieve the overall success that it did,” says Murphy. “This is a very special group of students who are wonderful representatives of our school.”
The recognition that mock trial teams in national competition bring to schools is considered so important that in some cases, cities have named streets in honor of their teams, adds Murphy. Students successful in mock trial learn essential skills leading to success in a variety of fields and are in a strong position for law school admission or job placement.
In addition to Posocco, Dyer, Stocker, Rosenzweig, and Cottrell, founding members of Lafayette’s mock trial team in fall 1999 included current juniors Brian Heyesey, Cherish O’Donnell, and Robin Yudkovitz. The students worked with the team during the past fall semester, but were unable to compete because they are studying abroad this spring.