For 36 teams from across the United States competing this
weekend, UCLA’s annual mock trial invitational will be the
real thing after weeks of practice.
The two-day competition will be hosted by UCLA’s mock
trial program, which had two teams place second and eighth in the
country last year. The second day of the competition will take
place at UCLA, and five UCLA teams will compete against teams from
other colleges and universities. Crosstown rival USC will bring
four teams to the invitational.
Team members will do their best to try a legal case during the
tournament, with students acting as defense and prosecution
attorneys as well as witnesses.
The invitational features four rounds, giving each team two
chances to act as the defense and prosecution. Because each team
has only eight members, some students play multiple roles.
Each year a standardized case is released for use by mock trial
programs nationwide, and this year’s fictitious case involves
a hockey player ““ Tony Sturmanis ““ who is killed during
a playoff game after fighting with another hockey player, Michael
Harmon.
Harmon is charged with murder, manslaughter and negligent
homicide, and the case has its twists. Harmon’s wife has
romantic links to Sturmanis, and Sturmanis won a contract Harmon
also wanted hours before the fight between the two.
Judges look at case theory, or how each team chooses to argue
the case, said David Lichenstein, mock trial student director.
Judges also consider trial advocacy, or public speaking skill and
style.
“It seems like it would be objective, but it becomes very
subjective,” Lichenstein said. “You never know what any
one judge likes.”
For students on UCLA’s teams, winter break ended early,
with students practicing up to five hours each day this week.
And, among other preparations, students visited the Los Angeles
County Coroner’s Office Wednesday to meet a forensic
pathologist. This will be especially helpful for team members who
play the role of Dana Quincy, a witness and pathologist.
A team from the University of Kansas, headed by third-year
student Ryan Faulconer, arrived early to participate in a Thursday
scrimmage with UCLA’s teams.
Kansas’ team has participated in a few competitions this
school year, but Faulconer said members may be less prepared coming
off their winter hiatus.
“Obviously we practiced first semester, and we had three
competitions, (but) we are still on winter break. “¦ That
first tournament, you’re going to be a little bit
rusty,” he said.
Faulconer added that his team looks forward to scrimmaging with
UCLA because the two teams have been on friendly terms over the
years.
“We’ve gotten along with them ““ it seemed like
a natural fit,” he said. “It’s just made it
really fun to come out here.”
UCLA’s teams participated in two tournaments this school
year, taking third place in one and first in the other. The
school’s mock trial program, which took first, second and
third in last year’s regional competitions, will probably
compete again in this year’s nationals, Lichenstein said.
Because the top two teams from each region go on to the
nationals in April, fewer than half of the members of UCLA’s
five-team program, at most, will have the opportunity to
participate in those competitions.
But for many in the program, mock trial is less about
competition than it is about camaraderie.
Gantam Sood, a fourth-year student and captain of one UCLA team,
said many of his closest friends have come from the program, and
that together they see movies on weekends, eat and party.
“It’s kind of like, “˜what don’t we
do?'” he said.
Those interested in watching the tournament can attend
Sunday’s competitions at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Rounds 3 and 4 begin at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. respectively.