Eight Elon students represented the university in the American Mock Trial Association’s regional competition Feb. 27-29 at the University of Maryland-College Park. The team earned the Spirit of AMTA Award, for the highest display of “civility, fair play and justice” during the conduct of the mock trial competition. This is Elon’s first team to compete in AMTA regional competition. The Elon team tied with Villanova for the Best New Team award.
During the competition, teams must fully prepare both the prosecution and defense side of the same case. All teams are provided the same case materials, including affidavits by six witnesses. Each team must choose three witnesses to use in its defense version and three to use in the prosecution version. Members of the team participate in the roles of attorneys as well as the witnesses.
Elon team members included:
- Andrea Spaeth, freshman
- Brooke Stathes, freshman
- Dave McDonald, freshman
- Kamal Jobe, sophomore
- Lara Nicotra, freshman
- Patrick Elliott, freshman co-captain
- Valencia Smith, freshman
- Will Warihay, freshman co-captain
The Elon team met frequently during the fall and winter to prepare their cases. The team recruited attorneys Rob Thompson and Alex Bass of the Alamance County district attorney’s office in Graham, N.C., to provide technical assistance. The team also visited with Duke University’s experienced mock trial team in preparation for the event.
Elon competed against schools such as George Washington University, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia.