Claremont McKenna College's Mock Trial team turned in a strong performance against the nation's top teams in the American Mock Trial Association's national tournament this spring, and earned the peer-voted "Spirit of AMTA" award for its demonstration of professionalism, fairness, and civility.
After competing successfully in the western regionals, against such schools as UCLA and USC, the CMC team headed to Florida in early March, where it competed with two of the nation's top ten Mock Trial Teams. Against New York University's team, ranked fourth at the national tournament, the CMC team earned a tie on one judge's ballot and a close loss on the second.
Prepared to argue both prosecution and defense positions in a case of alleged homicide by one hockey player against another during a game, CMC Mock Trial team members "studied the relevant case law, researched the information that would be needed by expert witnesses, learned about both hockey and medicine, and internalized the rules of evidence and procedure," explained Elenor Taylor '81, director of alumni relations and Mock Trial coach.
Participating in this year's competitions were eight CMC students: Elizabeth DeLaTorre '07, Ilana Eydus '07, Stephanie Gase '05, Michael Huang '05, Tracey Katz '07, Philip McDermott '04, Daniel Simon '07, and Jenny Small '07. All were nominated for individual awards, with two earning intercollegiate All-American honors, DeLaTorre as an All-American Witness, and McDermott as an All-American Attorney.
Competing teams in the tournament are judged by attorneys who are members of the Bar Association in the host state, Taylor explained, with one judge presiding at the trial and two others grading the competing teams.
"We're especially proud of their success as a young team" Taylor said. "This certainly bodes well for our chances over the next few years."