Nationally ranked, Fresno State’s Mock Trial team headed out to the Santa Monica Courthouse last weekend to the Opening Round Championship (ORC) to fight for a spot in the National Championship, competition.
Gordon M. Park, head coach of Mock Trial and an attorney at McCormick Barstow LLP, said this year’s team is the biggest in 11 years with a total of 37 members.
Simone Leighty, captain of Mock Trial, said she was ecstatic about the tournament.
“The possibility of winning is really exciting,” Leighty said.
Leighty said one of the hardest things to prepare for are subjective judges.
“Some judges love women who are aggressive,” Leighty said. “I have to wear my glasses, or I look too intimidating.”
Leighty said what she enjoyed the most was the people she got to know through Mock Trail.
Michael Kreins, a team member, said he enjoyed being a part of the team because it created a window of opportunities.
“It’s somewhere you can get first a hand experience,” Kreins said. “You work with attorneys. I work in a district attorney’s office with all criminal cases.”
Kreins said he normally dedicates about 10 to 12 hours a week to Mock Trail, but the week right before any tournament he puts in about 20 to 25 hours. Kriens said he felt the most difficult about his participation was managing his school load and Mock Trail.
Each trail has three lawyers and three witnesses, but Park said they prefer to have teams of seven because that seventh person can be used as a timekeeper. The teams vary in size from six to nine students, and each team is ranked A to D with a total of four teams.
The top seven teams in the regional make it to the OCR Park said. Each regional has colleges that are more or less geographically close together. The team that went to OCR was a mix of students from the A team, the B, and the C in order to make an “all star” team.
Eight judges rank each team, and each judge has a ballot.
“It’s totally subjective,” Park said. “One judge will rave and love you and give you a prefect score and thinks you’re the best in the room, and another guy doesn’t even rank you.”
Park said judges will make comments about everything, and he makes it a point for their team to always look good.
“I’m a hair Nazi,” Park said. “You have to have your hair pulled back. We look very good when we go to trial. I make sure everyone is in a suit.”
Park said there is a committee of lawyers who choose the case they use for their trials. It is completely fictitious. Even the state (Midlands) that the case takes place in is fictitious. Park said the case is given to them in mid-August, and about every two months more evidence is added.
Fresno State’s Mock Trial lost two key ballots to Cal State and a bid, but Kelli Hustedde, a junior on the team sent to ORC, won one out of the 12 awards that were given to outstanding witnesses out of 260 other witnesses.
Park shared what he enjoyed most about watching his students compete.
“This is an educational experience. Whether they win or lose doesn’t really matter. Winning or losing really is secondary,” Park said. “If these kids have improved their skill; if I can watch them and they’ve handled an objection well, and they don’t fumble, and there’s no ums or ahs; if they’re smooth, they’re entertaining, the judges like them, they have eye contact, they do everything right that I’ve asked of them, then screw the judge. They’ve learned, and I’m happy with that.”