Mock trial
[2] For example, when faced with complex fact issues in a particular case, attorneys might convene a mini mock trial to try different methods of presenting their evidence, sometimes before a jury.
The Champion of the 4th Annual Asia-Pacific Invitational Mock Trial Competition was Marianas Baptist Academy of Saipan.
These include: Mock trials in continental Europe are less coordinated than their UK or US counterparts, but there are a few isolated examples.
In Germany, the Faculty of Legal Sciences of the University of Regensburg organizes the REGINA Mock Trial.
[10] The National Bar Mock Trial Competition involves students taking on the roles of barristers and witnesses and presenting their case against teams from other schools.
Young Citizens, in association with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service and the Bar Council, has been running Mock Trial Competitions annually since 1991.
[11] Mock Trials are primarily aimed at promoting confidence in public speaking as well as introducing young people to the justice system and legal profession.
When an objection is raised, the judge may either overrule or sustain it immediately, or ask opposing counsel for their argument about why the testimony/evidence is admissible.
Given this method of scoring, it is possible for the defendant to be found guilty or lose the case but for the defense team to still win the round.
In some competitions, points can be deducted from a team's score for testifying with information outside the scope of the mock trial materials and for unsportsmanlike conduct or abuse of objections.
Students grades 3 to 6 are asked to generate, develop and write the case from their own idea to include details of the facts, issue, witnesses, statements, instructions, sub-issues, concepts and law.
North Carolina Elementary School Mock Trial Competition uses the winning entries from New Jersey Law Fair in the prior year as the cases for students to perform.
[25] Although there is no national competition for middle/junior high school level, there are many intrastate competitions held by state/county level organizers: The mock trial program was started to allow high school students to experience a courtroom setting in a variety of hands-on roles.
High school competitions are even held in functional courtrooms in the local City Hall to lend additional authenticity to the trial, are presided over by real judges, and the competing teams are typically coached and scored by practicing attorneys.
The Championship rotates around through the membership organizations and has been held in Phoenix, Arizona, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Indianapolis, Indiana, Madison, Wisconsin, Raleigh, North Carolina, Boise, Idaho, Hartford, Connecticut, Reno, Nevada, Athens, Georgia, and Wilmington, Delaware.
AMTA sponsors regional and national-level competitions, writes and distributes case packets and rules, and keeps a registry of mock trial competitors and alumni.
In total, AMTA provides a forum for over 7,300 undergraduate students each academic year to engage in intercollegiate mock trial competitions across the country.
[47] On the inter-collegiate circuit, a mock trial team consists of three attorneys and three witnesses on each side of the case (plaintiff/prosecution and defense).
All collegiate mock trial cases take place in the fictional state of Midlands, USA.
At invitationals, teams have the opportunity to test out particular case theories and improve as competitors before facing the challenge and pressure of regular season competition.
[48] For 22 years, the National Championship Tournament was held in Des Moines, Iowa, the city in which collegiate mock trial began.
[60] The University of Virginia's victory ended the then-recent run by UCLA, which had won the two previous national championships.
Virginia also became the 4th school to repeat as champions, joining UCLA, the University of Iowa, and Rhodes College, which accomplished the feat twice.
In 2011, UCLA defeated defending champion New York University 4–1 to claim the Bruins' third title, the third-most in the history of the American Mock Trial Association.
In 2013, Florida State University defeated Rhodes College in FSU's first championship round appearance by a 4–1 ballot decision.
In 2016, Yale won its first national championship in an 11–3–1 ballot decision, defeating the University of Virginia in the final trial.
[67] In what was the closest final round in AMTA history, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County beat Yale when the panel of 11 judges was split 5–5 (with one tie), resulting in a narrow tiebreaker.
Virginia's victory moved their program to tie with Rhodes College for the second-most number of national titles.
The tournament is held after the end of the competitive season (marked by the conclusion of the final round of the National Championship), typically in late June.
The competitors are chosen based on their respective school's caliber of competition, the number of awards received at tournaments, appearances at ORCS and Nationals, amongst other factors.
