DLA Weblog

Mock Trial advances to silver at Princeton

This past weekend, the Dartmouth Mock Trial society competed at the Princeton Regional Tournament and qualified its third team to the silver national tournament. This success means that Dartmouth has broken its own previous record and qualified an unprecedented number of teams to nationals.
Source: Dartmouth Mock Trial Society Press Release
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Princeton, NJ - The Dartmouth Mock Trial Society completed the Princeton Regional Tournament on February 20th and 21st, 2004, and finished by qualifying a team to the National Intercollegiate Tournament, to be held in Florida March 5-7. The second team competing at the Princeton Regional had a strong showing against Georgetown and teams from Boston University and Syracuse, both of which finished the tournament in the top ten.

Team Black, which qualified to nationals, ended with a record of 5-2-1 (five wins, two losses, and a tied ballot), which was a record identical to that of the National Championship Tournament qualifiers. Because the competition at the Princeton Regional was so close, rankings were determined by the strength of opposition, rather than by record alone. According to this determination, Team Black ended the tournament in fourth place. The Princeton Regional Tournament, which is well-known for its level of difficulty, hosted teams from Yale, Harvard, Georgetown, Boston University, Brown and Syracuse, all of which have strong competitive histories.

In mock trial competition, participants prepare the roles of attorneys and witnesses based upon a nationwide fact pattern provided each year and try their cases against teams from other colleges and universities in regional and National-level tournaments. Rounds are judged by practicing attorneys and judges and competitors are scored based upon the professionalism and effectiveness of the cases they present. The top teams from each tournament are sent to the National Intercollegiate Tournament in either Florida or Kentucky (formerly known as the "Silver Flight national") and the National Championship Tournament in Des Moines (previously the "Gold Flight national"). Competitions consist of four rounds with two judges each, for a total of eight potential "ballots" to win each tournament.

Team Black, with attorneys Jeremy Presser (04), Gwendolyn Carroll (04), Daniel Preysman (04) and witnesses Will Rack (04), Tina Catania (03), Alexa Hansen (04), Brian Pingree (04), ended with a record of 5-2-1, which earned them a bid to the National Championship Tournament. Because both Team Black and Team Green qualified to the silver flight tournament, the Dartmouth Mock Trial society will now have to decide who to send to the tournament. Team Green qualified two weeks ago at the Manchester, CT regional with a hard-earned fourth place showing. The American Mock Trial Association prohibits more than two teams from any school from competing at a National Tournament. Dartmouth has now qualified three teams, one to the championship tournament in Des Moines and two to the silver flight tournament, so not all of the qualifiers will be able to compete.

Team Silver, with attorneys Evan Mendelson (06), Martie Kutscher (07), Michael Sarinsky (07), Kathryn Clark (07), and witnesses Kristin Janssen (06), Megan Hamilton (06), Dan Racic (07), Amy Rolfvondenbaumen (07), had a strong showing at a highly competitive tournament. Team Silver is a very young team, and the level of their performance at Princeton bodes very well for their success at future tournaments.

Since its inception in the 1996-97 school year, Dartmouth's performance at regional tournaments has been improving with almost perfect consistency. Dartmouth's first year of competition resulted in a bid to the Gold Flight tournament. After a brief slump in 97-98, Dartmouth went on to win a spot to the Silver Flight tournament in 98-99, a bid to the Gold Flight tournament in 99-00, two bids to the Silver Flight tournament in 00-01, and one bid each to the Silver and Gold tournaments in 01-02.

In addition, Dartmouth finished 1st in their division at that year's Silver flight tournament, earning another bid to the Gold Flight in 00-01. In 01-02, Dartmouth qualified one team to each of the national tournaments, and last year in 02-03, the society qualified two teams to the Gold Flight tournament. Having qualified three teams this year, Dartmouth must now make the tough decision as to which teams will be able to compete at nationals. Regardless of the outcome of this decision, this unprecedented success has created an embarrassment of riches for Dartmouth's mock trial society, and the necessity of the decision is a testament to Dartmouth's continual improvement and competitive progress.

Dartmouth's Mock Trial Society and its competition teams are student-led and student-directed.

The Dartmouth Mock Trial society would like to thank its faculty advisor Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, as well as Carey Heckman '76. The Dartmouth Mock Trial Society is, as always, extremely grateful for the continued financial support of the Committee on Student Organizations, the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, and the Student Activities Office. We would also like to extend special thanks to the volunteers who judged our practice rounds, including Robert Buckley, Carey Heckman, Joseph Dashbauch, Peter Gardner, Katherine Borgstrom, all of whom provided invaluable advice and commentary.

CONTACT:
Daniel Preysman, President
603-643-3106

Jeremy Presser, Vice-President of Organization
603-646-6321