What's the point of Mock Trial?
How many universities participate in Mock Trial?
You said students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses. How does that work?
Are you glued to the TV during Law & Order and CSI marathons? Can you quote every line of A Few Good Men? Do you think "Arguing" qualifies as a hobby? Multiply those times ten and throw in the competitive thrill of team sports and you've got Mock Trial!
Mock Trial is a team trial advocacy competition in which students assume the roles of attorneys and witnesses and compete against more than 600 teams from across the country!
Sound like fun? Get all the details below!
It's fun, addictive, and you can win lots of trophies! What's not to love?
Of course, Mock Trial also greatly enhances debating, public speaking, critical thinking, and acting skills, and gives students an increased understanding of the legal system.
If you're going to law school, Mock Trial is great preparation. If you're not planning on going to law school, you'll find the skills you learn in Mock Trial are applicable in any field!
In trial, our teams compete against other universities to simulate courtroom procedure.
- Each trial consists of opening statements, direct examinations, cross examinations, closing arguments, and objections.
- Students are scored on a scale of 1 to 10 by actual attorneys, who serve as scoring judges.
- No verdict is issued based on the facts of the case; rather, the winning team is the team that best argues its side of the case.
Each year, the American Mock Trial Association releases a fictional case, usually about 100 pages in length. Teams use the witness affidavits, exhibits, relevant case law and statutes to write original directs, crosses, openings, and closings, as well as develop objections.
Every team in the nation uses the same case from the beginning of the season to the end. The case is updated before Nationals to include additional witnesses, exhibits, and facts. Cases alternate between criminal and civil cases each year.
Throughout the Mock Trial season, team members attend invitational, regional, and national competitions. These competitions generally include between 16 and 48 teams from universities across the country.
Most competitions consist of four rounds, in which teams compete twice as Plaintiff/Prosecution and twice as Defense.
Rounds last approximately three hours each, and tournaments generally are held over a period of two or three days on weekends.
More than 250 universities across the country have Mock Trial programs. Because each program can register multiple teams, the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) currently consists of more than 600 teams.
The University of Georgia has four registered teams that compete in regional competition each year, and five teams that compete in Fall invitationals.
Each team consists of 6-10 members who play both the Prosecution/Plaintiff and Defense sides of the case.
Each side of the case has a total of six roles, three attorneys and three witnesses.
Because there are 12 roles in total between the two sides, some members play roles on both sides of the case. That means some members play an attorney on both sides, a witness on both sides, or an attorney on one side and a witness on the other.
