When a young toddler dies after swallowing beads made by “Happyland Toys,” his father sues the company. That’s the premise of a fictional lawsuit argued Oct. 15-17 in the 4th annual Carolina Classic Mock Trial Invitational at Elon University, which brought to campus some of the biggest names in undergraduate mock trial competition, including Harvard, George Washington University and the University of Virginia.
About 250 undergraduates representing 26 teams took part in a contest that was closely watched by the American Mock Trial Association as it evaluates the university’s credentials as a possible host site for future regional and national tournaments.
Tournament results:
1 – Team 1164, University of Virginia, 6 – 1 – 1 (Head-to-Head Majority Win vs Team 1279)
2 – Team 1279, Duke University, 6 – 1 – 1 (Head-to-Head Majority Loss)
3 – Team 1179, Furman University, 6 – 2 (20.5 CS)
4 – Team 1281, Duke University, 6 – 2 (17.5 CS)
5 – Team 1280, Duke University, 6 – 2 (17 CS)
6 – Team 1097, Harvard University, 6 – 2 (15 CS)
“For a tournament that’s only been around four years, we’ve seen impressive growth in the strength of the field of our competitors, and the number of teams who want to come here,” said Elon senior Carolyn Baumgarten, president of the Mock Trial organization at the university. “That gives us the advantage of choosing the field we accept.”
Duke University won top honors at the tournament in 2009. The George Washington University and the University of Georgia have also placed first since the invitational’s inaugural event in 2007.
How does mock trial work? Each year, teams at various colleges are given one case to examine, and it’s that same case they will argue at each invitational they attend. A mock trial team must understand the legal arguments for both the plaintiff and the defendant, since teams will take part in several rounds at each tournament, alternating their roles between the two sides in an effort to score points.
Mock trial teams divide responsibilities between members. Some serve as the attorneys, while others memorize the details that “witnesses” provide when taking the stand. The American Mock Trial Association, of which Elon is a member and which counts nearly 6,000 students among its rolls this year, serves as the governing body for mock trial tournaments in the United States.
The tournament only included undergraduate teams.
“It is beneficial no matter what you want to do. It teaches you how to think and speak on your feet, and how to present to an audience, which is relevant to any field,” William Warihay ’07, L’10, who founded the mock trial program at the university and today serves as its adviser, said of the reasons for students to consider joining the organization. “We draw in a lot of people who don’t have any intention of going to law school.”
Elon University has quickly built a reputation in mock trial circles for its annual tournament, Warihay said. At many colleges, tournaments require the use of several buildings, and very few competitions assign teams their own room to use as a base. The Koury Business Center allows Elon to offer those amenities.
The university also has the support of the Greensboro and Alamance County chapters of the North Carolina Bar Association and of students and faculty in the School of Law. These organizations provide volunteer judges for the mock trial contest, Warihay said. When such support is lacking, as it sometimes is at other tournaments, team coaches are called upon to serve as judges and are unable to focus on the performance of their members.
Elon didn’t require teams to bring someone to serve as a judge, Warihay said.
“We do a lot of things from a service standpoint that other tournaments don’t do,” he said. “I learned a lot about running tournaments from being a competitor myself. We run everything on time. We get support from the local bars, and the law school, where we don’t have to use coaches to judge.”
Elon will be fielding two teams for the invitational, and the organization plans to participate in three additional tournaments before Thanksgiving. The national tournament is scheduled for April.
Teams taking part in the 2010 Carolina Classic Mock Trial Invitational are draw from the following colleges and universities:
University of Central Florida
Duke University
Eastern Kentucky University
Elon University
Furman University
The George Washington University
University of Georgia
Harvard University
Loras College
University of North Carolina
University of South Carolina
University of St. Francis
University of Texas
Vanderbilt University
University of Virginia
Washburn University
Washington & Lee University
