Spring Break
Brandeis hosts Mock Trial event
by Lital Shair
News | 11/6/07
Posted online at 4:48 AM EST on 11/6/07
Last weekend the campus was filled with aspiring lawyers and witnesses for Brandeis' second annual Mock Trial Invitational, which brought together 26 teams from several Universities. Every school brought two teams on average.
Among the participants were representatives from Roger Williams University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University, Dartmouth University, Boston University, Brown University, Suffolk University, University of New Hampshire, Southern Connecticut State University, and Brandeis.
The American Mock Trial Association, which presides over intercollegiate Mock Trial competition, releases a different case every year that college teams use to compete at different Invitationals hosted by different universities over the course of the year.
Each team consists of two sides: the defense and the prosecution, each of which comprises three lawyers and three witnesses. When teams compete, the defense side of one team will compete against the prosecution/plaintiff side of another team by giving opening and closing statements, cross-examining witnesses, and so on. Each trial is judged on the basis of evaluation by points, based on individual performance, and the team with the most points wins.
According to Danielle Ross '09, a member of Mock Trial, the case for this year is a sentencing case in which Don/Dawn Francis, a child protective services worker , attempted to remove a child from its parent's home, and was stabbed by Bobbi Campbell, the child's parent, with a needle infected with HIV. Campbell pled guilty to stabbing Francis, so the Mock Trial case is to determine Campbell's sentencing, said Ross.
"The plaintiff's side has to show evidence of aggravation and the defense...[has] to provide evidence showing that [Campbell] deserves mercy," Ross said. In the Mock Trial case, Ross said she plays the role of Dawn Francis, the plaintiff.
A defense strategy used by several Brandeis teams was to show that Campbell "fell through the cracks. He was failed by the system," said Ross.
Among the participants were representatives from Roger Williams University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University, Dartmouth University, Boston University, Brown University, Suffolk University, University of New Hampshire, Southern Connecticut State University, and Brandeis.
The American Mock Trial Association, which presides over intercollegiate Mock Trial competition, releases a different case every year that college teams use to compete at different Invitationals hosted by different universities over the course of the year.
Each team consists of two sides: the defense and the prosecution, each of which comprises three lawyers and three witnesses. When teams compete, the defense side of one team will compete against the prosecution/plaintiff side of another team by giving opening and closing statements, cross-examining witnesses, and so on. Each trial is judged on the basis of evaluation by points, based on individual performance, and the team with the most points wins.
According to Danielle Ross '09, a member of Mock Trial, the case for this year is a sentencing case in which Don/Dawn Francis, a child protective services worker , attempted to remove a child from its parent's home, and was stabbed by Bobbi Campbell, the child's parent, with a needle infected with HIV. Campbell pled guilty to stabbing Francis, so the Mock Trial case is to determine Campbell's sentencing, said Ross.
"The plaintiff's side has to show evidence of aggravation and the defense...[has] to provide evidence showing that [Campbell] deserves mercy," Ross said. In the Mock Trial case, Ross said she plays the role of Dawn Francis, the plaintiff.
A defense strategy used by several Brandeis teams was to show that Campbell "fell through the cracks. He was failed by the system," said Ross.
Be the first to comment on this story