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University Communications

University of Richmond mock trial teams qualify for national tournaments

February 22, 2007

Two University of Richmond undergraduate mock trial teams have earned bids to national tournaments sponsored by the American Mock Trial Association, marking the first time the university has qualified multiple teams for national competition in a single year. Three Richmond teams competed Feb. 17-18 in Washington, D.C., at AMTA's Capital City regional tournament—one of 23 regionals around the country—against 17 other teams from Elon University (N.C.), Elizabethtown College (Pa.), George Washington University, Gettysburg College, Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, Mount St. Mary's College (Md.), the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary.

Richmond's first team finished second to defending national champion University of Virginia and advanced to AMTA's National Championship Tournament at Stetson University in St. Petersburg, Fla., April 13-15. A second Richmond team placed fourth, qualifying for the Silver Flight Tournament March 16-18 at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn.

Richmond's second team can still qualify for the national championship tournament by scoring high at the Minnesota competition.

Two Richmond students—Leslie Gleue, a senior from Merritt Island, Fla., and Michelle Beach, a sophomore from Flemington, N.J.—won best witness awards. AMTA competition gives undergraduates firsthand knowledge of work as a trial attorney, understanding of the judicial system, and highly developed critical thinking and communications skills.

At AMTA tournaments, a team twice represents each side—prosecution and defense—of a fictitious case. The team gives an opening statement, calls and direct-examines three witnesses from its own team, cross-examines the other team's three witnesses and delivers a closing argument.

Each component of the trial is scored by two judges. At the end of a round, scores are tallied, and the team with the highest score wins. Teams are composed of three witnesses and three attorneys.