"What is mock trial?"

Mock trial is an intercollegiate team competition where universities compete against one another in simulated trials at various tournaments across the country. Each team is made up of 6-10 members playing either attorneys, witnesses, or both.

 

Attorneys give speeches, ask witnesses questions, and argue the admissibility of evidence. Witnesses act as characters and give engaging testimony describing the events in question or their expert opinion on such events. Teams are scored on each element of their performance by a panel of judges, and total points are tallied at the end to determine the winner.

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"Can I try out even if I haven’t done mock trial before?"

 

Absolutely! No experience is required or expected to try out for our team, and our tryouts don’t make you apply any previous legal knowledge. Many of our current members had never done mock trial before Cornell.

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"Can I join even if I’m not interested in law?"

 

Yes! mock trial develops analytical, communication, and acting skills that apply to a variety of organizations and careers. Members of the team have been from nearly all majors and from all Cornell colleges.​

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"How does the mock trial season work?"

Each year, the American Mock Trial Association publishes a criminal or civil case packet that is used by over 700 teams across America and parts of Canada. There are two seasons in college mock trial: the fall season and the spring season. The fall season is made up of invitational tournaments hosted at various universities. The spring season is when teams compete at regionals, ORCS (super regionals), and nationals.​

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"What is the time commitment like?"

Each team has, on average, three practices per week, but we’re flexible to everyone’s schedules. The only non-flexible times are those on the weekends of tournaments. There is a baseline expectation of at least 5-8 hours per week, but we love what we do, so it often doesn’t feel like work. Many of our current members are also involved in other activities on campus, including academic research, Greek life, and pre-professional fraternities.

 

 

"What is the community like?"

Our team is like family. There’s no better feeling than going into trial with people you not only enjoy working with but also love to spend time with outside the courtroom. There are also plenty of mock trial socials throughout the year :)