Mock Trial Team Prepares for Regional Tournaments; Final Scrimmage Feb. 10.

If you’ve seen outlines of bodies on the chalkboards of the Mount’s Science Building, don’t worry! There has been no crime. What you are seeing is the work of the Mock Trial Team, which is busy preparing for the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) Regional Tournaments, which will be held in Washington, D.C.

Each year, AMTA creates a case, including witness statements and relevant reports. Participating schools, such as the Mount, pay a registration fee to allow them access to the case and to participate in the regional tournaments. Civil and criminal cases are presented in alternating years. In this year’s civil case, the parents of a teenage boy are claiming that the local police department violated their son’s constitutional rights when they shot him. The police department is defending itself by saying that the officer reasonably feared for his life when he shot the boy.

In regional tournaments, each team prepares and presents its case four times (twice as the plaintiff/prosecution and twice as defense). The Mount’s team has practiced its case in a four-round invitational tournament in Charleston, S.C., in November, in a two-round scrimmage at Elizabethtown College in December, and in a one-round informal scrimmage at Gettysburg College on Jan. 20.  In addition, the Mount hosted a two-round scrimmage with Gettysburg College on Jan. 27; we were honored that Federal Judge Geraldine Klauber was present to judge the morning round. Another two-round scrimmage against Shippensburg University is planned for February 10. 

This year’s Mock Trial Team is co-captained by international relations major Kathleen Kennedy and psychology major Adam Spacht. Other participating students are Susan Banko, George Brunner, Brady Gantt, Zach Jacobson, Ralph Jones, Dan Long, Nicole Miller, Branda Reynolds, Mike Sorrentino, Beth Walsh and Tim Woods. It is coached by Dr. Marcia McKinley of the psychology department and Dr. Mike Barry of the business department. 

Mock trial involvement enables the students to gain a variety of skills, including public speaking and critical thinking abilities, as well as knowledge of courtroom procedure and the law. Students are invited to participate in Mock Trial. (Credit is offered through the political science and sociology departments.) Any other members of the Mount community with public speaking or acting skills or with a legal background are welcome to assist with coaching.

We invite members of the Mount community to attend the upcoming scrimmage Saturday, Feb. 10. For more information about how you can become involved, please contact Dr. Marcia McKinley at 301-447-5394 x4282 or mckinley@msmary.edu.