General Mock Trial Program Information

The CMC Mock Trial Teams participate in the American Collegiate Mock Trial Association program. Over 550 teams from universities around the nation compete against each other by presenting either the Plaintiff (Prosecution) or Defense side of a mock civil or criminal case. Each side will present Opening Statements, Direct & Cross Examination of three Plaintiff witnesses and three Defense witnesses, and Closing Arguments. Students must follow the rules of evidence of the “State of Midlands” (an imaginary state that follows the Federal Rules of Evidence). Student attorneys must be familiar with trial procedures, court decorum, evidentiary objections and proper examination techniques. Student witnesses must portray witnesses in a credible manner, consistent with their witness affidavits. This regional tournament will determine which teams are to be awarded the opportunity (a bid) to compete at the National level of competition.

2009-2010 Case Summary

State of Midlands v. Jackie Owens

In a first for Midlands, three entrepreneurs joined forces to create Trifecta Entertainment, a major movie studio. After some initial growing pains, Trifecta was about to embark on its most profitable year. But then one of the partners went missing. Foul play was suspected and then police discovered the missing partner’s corpse buried at the base of Calkins Cliffs. The two remaining partners have been indicted for murder.

What To Expect

We will provide volunteers with a judge’s packet containing the case information, Mock Trial Rules of Evidence, and rules of court several weeks before the tournament.

We will hold an orientation and brief training session for all judges one-half hour before each round (where there will be food and beverages including coffee for the morning rounds). At the orientation session, we will explain the scoring ballots and review what to look for and how to evaluate the competitors.

The trials may last up to three hours, but most of them take less time. There will be three judges per trial. One judge will preside. He/she will conduct the trial and make rulings on objections. The two other judges will be scoring judges. The presiding judge must be either an attorney or judge (retired or sitting). All of this information will be detailed during the orientation session.

After each trial, the students like to have some brief feedback. Generally, each judge provides some brief comments to both teams as whole, and then often remains to answer individual questions.

Click here to see the tournament schedule.