On Feb. 8, the University of Portland Mock Trial’s “A-team” swept their regional competition at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.
With the win, the team advances to the second round of the American Mock Trial Association’s (AMTA) annual national tournament structure, the Opening Round Championship Series.
They’ll compete next in St. Paul, Minnesota, from March 13-15.
The win is all the more special for the team as it set a program record for regional performance, according to Avik Majumdar, “A-team” captain and operations and technology management and senior political science major.
Mock trials are simulated court proceedings in which students act as attorneys and witnesses and build defenses for multiple sides of a case.
According to junior “A-team” competitor and environmental ethics and policy major Nina Sullivan, mock trial teams are given a case and supplementary information in August by the AMTA. The packet includes case materials, case law stipulations and affidavits.
The students spend about a month building arguments for both prosecution and defense roles to present. To do so, mock trial competitors write speeches, direct examinations and cross-examinations, Sullivan said.
Sullivan says that there are multiple layers to the preparation for their regional competition, including a series of practice tournaments from October to February. It all begins with a read-through of the case.
“We put the information from those stories together to come up with a theory, [which is] how we're arguing to defend or prosecute the defendant,” Sullivan said. “Usually we finish writing content [around the] end of September, and then after that, it's just rehearsing, practicing and making sure we're polished.”
Catherine Leach is cross-examined by the opposing counsel, with UP Mock Trial counsel behind at their scrimmage on March 10.
Assistant mock trial coach and UP alum Taylor Marks says it is the coach's job to refine and strengthen the arguments of students on either team.
“Mock trial is very student-led,” Marks said. “For the most part, [we are] more of a resource that's on hand while the students are preparing their competition materials. [We are] like the sounding board to bounce ideas off of and get critiques.”
Mock Trial captain Avik Majumdar gives the opening statement at a scrimmage on March 10.
As the “A-team” prepares for their next competition, Majumdar is hopeful for a spot at the national championship on April 17. He says that success in these tournaments will lead to greater achievement for future UP Mock Trial teams.
“I'd like to leave the program in a better place than I found it,” Majumdar said. “I think by making a nationals run, it sets up our program to be more emboldened with the stuff we're doing. [It] can put us on [a] trajectory to be the best in our region at what we do.”
Nandita Kumar is the Community Engagement Editor for The Beacon. She can be reached at kumarn27@up.edu.
