Mock Trial is a unique activity in which teams of from six to eight students compete against each other by trying a hypothetical court case.  Students play the roles of witnesses and attorneys.  The activity is put on by the American Mock Trial Association, and is very popular.  Approximately 400 teams from over 100 schools participate each year.  The cases alternate between criminal and civil matters.  The year 2001 case is all about the wrongful death claim of the family of a person who died trying to climb Mount Everest.

Bradley University's Mock Trial program has become nationally competitive over the last seven years, due to the tremendous talent and effort of a large number of students.  In 1997, 1998 and 2000, we were among the top twenty teams in the nation.  In 2000, we also won our regional tournament, taking individual awards and the Spirit of AMTA award. We have also won a number of individual awards at regional, invitational, and national tournaments over the last seven years.

The team is coached by Craig Curtis and Scott Paulsen, with help from others such as Neal Claussen, Michael Mihm, and Ed Sattler.  One hour of college credit per semester is offered in either the political science or communication departments for student who compete on the team.  More information about Mock Trial from the student perspective can be found if you click here.

In the middle of the Fall 1992 semester, two outstanding juniors, Todd Naylor and Joe Watson, approached Dr. Craig Curtis of the Political Science Department about a flier they had received concerning the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA).  Since 1984, AMTA has conducted a national competition consisting of regional qualifying tournaments all across the nation, and two national tournaments for those teams that excel at the regionals.  Students from participating universities try a fictional case in front of "judges"  who are usually attorneys from the local Bar Association.  Todd and Joe asked, "Why can't we do this?"  The answer was that we could, and we did, beginning in academic year 1993-1994.

Each tournament consists of four rounds of trials.  Each team, consisting of six to eight students, plays the role of plaintiff and defendant two times each.  The students are scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for each of 14 individual activities--including roles as both attorneys and witnesses--and the scores are totaled.  140 points are possible, although a score above 110 would be very good.  Two judges score each round, yielding eight possible victories in a tournament.  Getting a verdict is not the point.  The point is to outscore the opponent.

In a typical year of competition, there are sixteen regional qualifying tournaments.  In those tournaments, better than 300 teams from over 150 schools from all across the nation compete.  Of those  teams, 44 advance to the Silver Flight tournament (held at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota), designed primarily for teams with less experience.  The Championship Flight (Always held in Des Moines) Tournament involves  64 teams (including the top 4 from Hamline), and the competition is always fierce.

The task of preparing for this competition is arduous in the extreme for the students and coaches alike.  Organization of the team begins, usually, in the Spring of the preceding year.  Actual preparation for the fact scenario for a given year of competition begins in the early Fall of the academic year.  Case materials are made available in late August.  The coaches and students work long hours deciding on the theory of the case, building basic skills and preparing the actual roles that the students will play in the competition.  Invitational tournaments, of no direct significance in the national competition, but vitally important if the team is to truly excel, are held in the late Fall.  The regional tournaments are held during the month of February.  The national tournaments are held in late March (Silver Flight) and early April (Championship Flight).  Alterations in the case materials are made before the regional and national tournaments in order to avoid the trials becoming overly rehearsed and stale.  Of course, each change necessitates more work for both coaches and students.

While most schools, like Bradley, are able to offer some academic credit for participation, the work load for the students is far more than the hours of credit would justify.  Similarly, the coaches, whether from the university faculty or the local Bar Association, usually volunteer their time.  Thus, it is commitment on the part of the students and coaches alike that makes this fine program work.  The practical lessons learned and character that is built by such a program cannot be approximated in the traditional classroom.  Participants have a much enriched educational experience, and go out into the world better prepared to face the tough challenges that lie ahead.

Going back to the Fall of 1992, when Joe Watson (a graduate of Harvard University Law School and a practicing attorney in Chicago) and Todd Naylor (a graduate of  the University of  Colorado Law School and a practicing attorney in Cincinnati)) approached Dr. Curtis, he was uncertain of what it would take to compete.  Nevertheless, he was excited by what he heard.  He spoke with Dr. Neal Claussen, who teaches a course in legal advocacy, about the possibility of fielding a team.  Dr. Claussen agreed to work on it.  Although he was unaware at the time of our efforts, Scott R. Paulsen, a local attorney, wrote a letter to the Political Science Department offering to volunteer his services to the development of a Mock Trial Team.  Mr. Paulsen had helped to coach a team at the University of Illinois the previous two years.  We immediately accepted his offer.  Subsequently a local judge also offered to help us, and we eagerly accepted his kind offer.

We determined that it was too late to compete in 1993, given the enormity of the task but we began to make plans for 1994.  In February of 1994, eight brave souls went off to Eureka College to compete for the very first time.  They took fourth in that tournament, and earned an invitation to Des Moines for the national tournament.  Two students earned individual awards as outstanding attorneys.  A winter storm did not allow that team to go to Des Moines, but several members were back for 1995.  That year, and each year subsequently, we have been invited to a national tournament.  Additionally, starting in 1995, we began to host the regional qualifying tournament here on our campus.  Starting in 1997, we began a tradition of qualifying for the Championship Flight Tournament.  In three of the last four years, we have finished in the top twenty in the nation.  Our best finish was in 1998, where we placed 4th in our regional, 6th in our division in Des Moines, and 9th overall.  Three students earned individual awards (best 20 out of 384) -- Glen Dunn, George Samuel and Elizabeth Ferries-Rowe -- and one, Elizabeth, was selected to participate in an all star trial.  Only the top 6 attorneys and witnesses in the nation are selected for this honor.  Additionally, Elizabeth would have qualified for an individual award as a witness as well as an attorney, but tournament rules at that time did not allow a single person to earn more than one award.

Competition year 1999-2000 also saw success.  For the first time, we won our regional tournament, also taking the Spirit of AMTA award at that tournament.  Once again, we placed in the top twenty in the nation in Des Moines.  The Bradley University Mock Trial Team finished 8th in its half of the draw, and tied for 13th overall.  In addition to team honors, veteran mocker Tim Boyer was selected as an All-American Attorney.

Despite some very talented participants in years 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, we failed to qualify for the National Championship tournament.  Both Scott and I were very proud of our 2000-2001 team.  At our regional tournament, we won 4 individual awards and the Team Spirit of AMTA award.  The individual award winners were – All Region Attorneys:  Courtney Cameo, Danielle Ricca, Clare Salmo.  All Region Witness:  Carrie Stalec.  We were very proud of the Team Spirit of AMTA award because that means that the teams against whom we competed judged us to best exemplify the ideals of fair play and adherence to the AMTA rules of  professional conduct and decorum. It was the second year in a row that we had won that award.  In 2001-2002, we attended a regional tournament in Joliet (Dr. Curtis was on sabbatical and not able to serve as a tournament host), once again winning the Spirit of AMTA Award, but failing to qualify for the National Tournament.

Academic year 2002-2003 saw us return to the National Championship Tournament in Des Moines.  We had a very good regional tournament in St. Louis, where we came in 3rd and qualifed for the "Big Dance" in Des Moines.  Veteran mocker Claire Salmo also won a best attorney award, with the highest ranking in the competition.  The National Tournament proved to ba a tough nut to crack and we came home without awards, but with a respectable finish in the middle of the pack.

With a rich roster of returning veterans, we have high hopes for this year's case.  Watch this page for more details as we try a murder case this year.