What is a Mock Trial?

Staci Windsor Prepares to Impeach a Witness Who Has Changed His Testimony

The Case

Every August, the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) releases a case set in the fictional jurisdiction of Midlands.  The case may be civil or criminal, alternating each year.  Civil cases are cases in which a plaintiff seeks money damages or other relief for injuries caused by a defendant's conduct.  In contrast, criminal cases are brought by the prosecution (the State of Midlands) to impose punishment for a criminal act. 

The case packet released in August includes witness affidavits, exhibits and case law.  In addition to the materials in the case packet, Midlands has its own rules of evidence and procedure, which are modeled on the federal rules.  Students use all of these materials to try the case at competitions throughout the year.

The Teams

Over 300 teams from colleges and universities across the country participate in AMTA-sponsored competitions.  There are no "divisions" in AMTA -- all teams, regardless of the size of their respective college or university, compete at the same level.  Thus, Bellarmine's opponents run the gamut from liberal arts colleges like Rhodes, Macalester and Loras to Ivy League institutions such as Yale, Harvard and Cornell to massive public universities like Ohio State, Michigan, and UCLA.

Many of these universities maintain more than one competing team.  All competing teams will have between six and eight members, three of whom will serve as attorneys and three who will portray witnesses (selected by the teams from the pool of witness affidavits) in each individual trial, which is commonly called a "round."  Each competitive round pits one college or university team against another. 

The Trial

The trial begins with opening statements from the plaintiff (prosecution) and then the defense.  Both opening statements should serve as a roadmap for the jury and should present a narrative of the events giving rise to the claim.  In opening statements, both sides also typically introduce the witnesses they intend to call and preview the testimony they anticipate from these witnesses.

After opening statements, the plaintiff (prosecution) begins its case-in-chief by calling its first witness.  There are two types of witness examinations – direct examination and cross examination.  A direct examination is conducted by the party presenting or calling the witness, while a cross examination is conducted by the opposing party.  One of the principal distinctions between direct examination and cross examination is that the attorney inquiring of the witness during direct examination is generally not permitted to ask leading questions (questions that suggest an answer).

After the directing attorney for the plaintiff (prosecution) finishes his or her examination, the cross examining attorney for the defense may inquire.  Once the witness has finished testifying (i.e., the parties indicate that they have no more questions for the witness), the plaintiff (prosecution) calls its next witness and the process repeats.  After the plaintiff (prosecution) has presented its three witnesses, it will rest, and the defense will begin its case-in-chief, using the same format as the first case-in-chief.

At the close of the evidence – i.e., after the conclusion of the defense case-in-chief – the parties make closing arguments.  During these closing arguments, the parties summarize the testimony and argue that the testimony has allowed them to prove or rebut the legal elements of the claim made in the case.  The closing argument is the last function performed in a competitive round by a mock trial participant.  

The Ballots

In every round, there are two scoring judges, often local attorneys or actual judges, who assess the students' performances.  The judges are given ballots with which to evaluate the teams, and the results of each round will be determined by the judges' ballots.  The case is judged not on its merits (i.e., whether the plaintiff (prosecution) proved its case), but on the performances of the student participants themselves.  The judges' score all competitors -- attorneys and witnesses -- from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent) on the ballots they are given, and the sum of all of these scores becomes the team's total for the round. 

By comparing the totals for the plaintiff (prosecution) and defense, the ballot can be awarded to the team with the most points (or 1/2 of the ballot to each team in the case of a tie).  Because there are two scoring judges in each round, in a four-round tournament there will be eight judges' ballots that a team could possibly earn. 

The Season

Many teams choose to participate in invitational competitions, which begin in October, as a means of preparing for regional and national competition.  These invitationals typically have four-rounds of competition, and teams generally alternate between plaintiff (prosecution) and defense in successive rounds.  This affords each team -- and team member -- the opportunity to consider and argue the case from different perspectives. 

Teams also switch opponents each round (typically according to a system of "power pairing" which means that teams with a similar number of ballots earned will usually face one another).  The teams are ranked at the end of a competition by how many ballots they earned.  Individual competitors are also recognized for excellent performances as attorneys and witnesses. 

The invitational season ends in February, when teams participate in regional competition as a means of qualifying for national tournaments.  A team's performance at its assigned regional tournament will determine whether its season will continue in further national competition at either the National Tournament (formerly the "Silver" Tournament) or the National Championship Tournament (formerly the "Gold" Tournament).

The National Championship Tournament is made up of the 64 teams who have qualified based on their performance at regionals or at one of the two National Tournaments.  These teams are divided into two "divisions" at the National Championship Tournament, and the winner of each division competes in a fifth -- and final -- round to determine the National Champion.  In addition to the team honors, individual competitors who are recognized at the National Championship Tournament or who compete in the final round are designated "All Americans," the highest honor that can be conferred on any individual participant.