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An eight-member team consisting of UA undergraduates is slated to compete at the American Mock Trial Association's nationwide competition in Iowa this month.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
April 14, 2009

The only mock trial team in the state going to the National Championship Tournament this month resides at The University of Arizona.

Members of the UA Mock Trial undergraduate student organization qualified to participate in the 25th annual tournament in Memphis at the end of last month. During the qualifying tournament, UA students competed with others from schools that include Tufts University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Boston College.

"We have worked very hard all year in order to represent the UA well," said Megan Reed, the club's tournament director, who will compete with seven other members at the national tournament.

Mock Trial is a program that involves university students in replicated courtroom situations where they must try cases in a competitive arena.

Competing teams receive information about a case at the start of the academic year. Throughout the year, the teams participate in American Mock Trial Association rounds involving their cases, which can be updated and changed throughout the year to add complexity. All the while, team members must present both sides of the case with team members acting as both attorneys and witnesses.

"This is the first time that our program has qualified to nationals in three years," said Reed, a UA Honors College student studying English.

Reed said the UA team is among 48 teams to have advanced in the competition. Nationally, about 540 teams are involved in the competition and include schools such as New York University, Rhodes College and the University of California at Berkeley.

This year, the team received information about a defamation case involving a man who is suing a media network. In this case, Drew Walton alleges that Blitz News Network defamed him on the air by accusing him of murder, Reed said.

The team is now spending several hours each night preparing for the National Championship Tournament, which will be held April 17-19 in Des Moines, Iowa.

The team members are:

• Melissa Lim, defense closing attorney and team captain, who is a junior and Honors College student majoring in journalism.
• Corey Wlodarczyk, a plaintiff closing attorney, who is a senior majoring in philosophy and political science.
• Soo Chang, a plaintiff opener attorney and witness, who is a junior Honors College student studying philosophy and political science.
• Michael Devereaux, a defense opener attorney, who is a political science sophomore.
• Megan Reed, a plaintiff attorney and witness, who is a freshman majoring in international studies.
• Matthew McClure, a defense attorney and witness, who is a junior majoring in psychology and philosophy.
• Rachel Johnston, a double witness, who is a sophomore majoring in English, classics and philosophy.
• Alyssa Morris, a witness, who is a sophomore majoring in psychology.

Along the way, the team and individual members have earned numerous awards, including "Outstanding Attorney" and "Outstanding Witness" awards during invitational events. Others earned "all-regional attorney" awards at various regional competitions.

"It's sometimes challenging whenever they add new witnesses and, at the end of the year we don't know what's going to play into the trail," said Melissa Lim, who is also the team captain.

"But we've been practicing every night, running through all our materials, going through scrimmages and we also have a coaching board to help us," Lim said.