Cady Stribling
Features Editor
cstribling1@murraystate.edu
The Murray State mock trial members object COVID-19’s attempt to ruin the 30th annual tournament. Despite not being able to travel like in previous years, the mock trial tournament took place Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8, in Faculty Hall 208.
Senior political science major Joshua Sanders has been doing mock trial for a year and is the current president and captain.
Sanders, who has been doing mock trial for a year, said mock trial is both a class and a club, so participation is open to anyone interested in being trained in trial matters. Sanders said members are given one case per year to work on and prepare before arguing both sides of the cases at tournaments.
“There are witnesses and attorneys, and you get to choose who you want to call to the stand, what evidence you want to use and how you go about questioning your witnesses,” Sanders said. “The case problem is something like 180 pages long of affidavits, rules, stipulations, evidence and other things.”
Sanders said the case problem this year is a civil case of either a negligence per sae or Battery case. In the case, the son-in-law of a winery owner died because of pesticide ingestion.
Focusing on perfecting the preparation of this case, members of mock trial had been preparing for the tournament all semester.
Sanders said they competed against schools from a variety of states from Alabama to Oregon to Mississippi to Missouri.
“It went really well,” Sanders said. “Everyone has been working hard at their roles and were great. There were roughly 24 teams in total at the last competition. I think any tournament that offers competition from different schools, it gives as an opportunity to see how other people have interpreted the case problem and just different views on mock trial.”
Because of COVID-19, this year’s mock trial tournament had to take place over Zoom, which came with many challenges. Sanders said when mock trial had to move to an online tournament via Zoom, it created many problems with movement since they approach witnesses as they portray themselves.
“Mock trial is a lot like actual court, so things such as document sharing, having everything accessible for the judge, jury or opposing bench to see is something to really adapt to,” Sanders said.
Despite the tournament being over Zoom, Sanders said now more than ever mock trial, and campus events in general, is rewarding and helpful. Because of the isolation COVID-19 can cause, Sanders highly recommends everyone to get involved in some way and to know there are still competitions and programs going on despite the circumstances.
For people looking to go into law, Sanders said mock trial is important since it lets law schools and firms know that members do know their way around a trial.
Not only do two practicing attorneys help to coach the team, Sanders said Paul Foote, the coach of mock trial and associate professor of political science has worked really hard and has been a great job teaching the class and club.
Foote has been the coach for six years and said mock trial is a great team-building exercise that increases students’ level of public speaking skills. Foote said the class and club trains students to speak and think as trial attorneys, so it is ideal for pre-law students who would be interested in trial practice.