Students launch mock trial team

At a school filled with active learners and avid debaters, it is a wonder that this club has not existed until now. Pioneered by Kelsey Henry ’14, the Mock Trial Club is in the process of becoming Middlebury newest student organization.

“I did mock trial in high school and it was a big consideration in my college search,” said Henry. “But, I ended up choosing a school which had no mock trial club.”

Then, over Winter Term, Henry took “The Death Penalty in the United States, in Theory and Practice,” a course culminating in a mock trial. After seeing the success of her class’s final, Henry decided to try and put a mock trial club into motion and emailed the entire political science department to determine interest levels. To her delight, she received a good student response.

“I also did mock trial in high school,” said Ben Anderson ’14.5, “and I was really excited when I heard they were starting a team.”

“I did it in high school as well,” said Jay Plamondon ’14, “and had a lot of fun.”

But the club is not exclusively for those with previous experience. In fact, mock trial is encouraging those with no prior participation to attend meetings that, along with offering information about mock trials, always feature baked goods.

“I thought the idea had some real appeal,” said Chris Inzerillo ’13, who did not participate in mock trial in high school. “It seemed like it’d be a lot of fun, so I went to the first meeting and haven’t stopped since. For people without experience, you learn a lot, it’s easy to pick up and [it is] a lot of fun.”

Mock trial teams are involved in intercollegiate competitions, governed by the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA), an organization that sponsors regional and national-level competitions and provides an interesting, complex and fictional case for teams to address. The schools split up into teams of six or seven — with approximately three witnesses and three attorneys — and proceed with opening statements, directing their witnesses, cross-examining their opponents’ and finishing with closing statements.

“Mock trial is an intellectual competition that requires you to think on your feet, and it’s intense,” said Henry.

“It’s a good way to practice public speaking and thinking on your feet,” said Anderson.

Every year AMTA selects one case for collegiate mock trial teams to focus on, giving students opportunities to examine the case from every angle and become truly invested in the process.

“There’s something about getting into a case that’s both challenging and really fun and you get to carry it out throughout the year,” said Inzerillo.

“You definitely get really attached,” said Anderson.

Unfortunately, the birth of the team came too late in the year to compete in AMTA’s regional competitions. Still, the club is working hard to be ready for next year.

“We really hit the ground running,” said Anderson.

“I’m trying to set up a sort of scrimmage invitational this spring to prep for next year,” said Henry. “College mock trial is a huge step up from high school — it’s an entirely different animal.”

The club meetings, which are now every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in MBH 338, are relaxed and informative opportunities for members to get to know each other and learn the nuances of mock trial strategy.

“We come in, eat some cookies, talk about mock trial and then talk about the case and how we can use the elements of mock trial,” said Henry. “And then we do some organizational stuff, because I’m wildly disorganized.”

Due to its recent and somewhat untimely founding, the club is not yet generating the kind of momentum it would like.

“Our first meeting we had 16 people, but we’ve had a lot of attrition,” said Henry.

“Seniors are hesitant since it’s too late to do the case this year,” said Inzerillo.

However, they are always looking for new members and encouraging anyone with interest to come to a meeting.