What is Mock Trial?
Mock Trial is more or less competitive acting, with the law. Every summer the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) releases a fake case packet, which is the framework for the entire year's competition.
Inside the case packet you will find sworn affidavits (witness statements), expert reports, relevant case law (legal precedent), crime scene photographs, diagrams, and other forms of evidence. All in all, this packet is about 120 pages.
A Mock Trial round proceeds just like a real trial: there are lawyers and witnesses for each side (prosecution/plaintiff and defense); lawyers present opening statements, direct examinations, cross examinations, closing statements, and objections based on the federal rules of evidence; witnesses relay compelling testimony during direct examinations and are required to defend their stories during cross examinations.
In Mock Trial, each side consists of three lawyers and calls three witnesses in their case-in-chief.
A tournament consists of four rounds over the course of a weekend (usually two rounds on Saturday and two on Sunday) where every team will compete twice on both sides of the case.
To learn more about the structure and scoring of a trial, click here.
Inside the case packet you will find sworn affidavits (witness statements), expert reports, relevant case law (legal precedent), crime scene photographs, diagrams, and other forms of evidence. All in all, this packet is about 120 pages.
A Mock Trial round proceeds just like a real trial: there are lawyers and witnesses for each side (prosecution/plaintiff and defense); lawyers present opening statements, direct examinations, cross examinations, closing statements, and objections based on the federal rules of evidence; witnesses relay compelling testimony during direct examinations and are required to defend their stories during cross examinations.
In Mock Trial, each side consists of three lawyers and calls three witnesses in their case-in-chief.
A tournament consists of four rounds over the course of a weekend (usually two rounds on Saturday and two on Sunday) where every team will compete twice on both sides of the case.
To learn more about the structure and scoring of a trial, click here.