LSU’s Mock Trial team recently competed in the 2021 regional tournament and performed their plaintiff and defense cases in chief in this year’s civil trial.
The mock trial team operates by analyzing either a mock criminal or civil case provided to them by the American Mock Trial Association. The team crafts a defense and prosecution argument surrounding the case, and these arguments are executed in a trial setting. The regional tournament, hosted by the University of Washington, was conducted virtually by Zoom this year for COVID-19 precautions.
Tucker Guilbeaux, the team president, said that while it may not be the same as in-person tournaments, there are plenty of genuine mock trial elements that are still prevalent.
“I still feel like students are getting their fundamental trial,” Guilbeaux said. “You’re still getting your objections, obviously something you’re not planning for, you’re still getting that cross examination that’s not planned for, that closing argument, you know things like that still have that same element of surprise that really determine who is the best mock trial team.”
The mock trial team had an A-team and a B-team competing in the tournament which consisted of nearly 650 A and B-teams from various universities such as Boston University, Boston College and University of Missouri-Kansas City.
This year’s mock trial team consisted of many freshmen with limited mock trial experience. Guilbeaux said it was crucial to ensure younger members of the team were adequately prepared in understanding rules of evidence, how to make proper objections, how to present their case adequately and then apply those skills to an online format.
Members of the mock trial team have opportunities to serve as witnesses or attorneys in the organization. The role of the attorney is to effectively present a defense or prosecution’s case, while it is the duty of the witness to answer the attorneys’ questions properly in order to help the attorneys build their case.
Rhea Chempakasseril is an executive assistant for the organization as well as a competing member who served as a witness this year. For this specific case, she acted the part of both a wedding planner and a medical doctor.
Chempakasseril said witnesses for the team can either be lay witnesses or expert witnesses. The lay witness she played was the wedding planner who could only testify to specific things she was present for in the case. She played an expert witness as the medical doctor, as she was required to know medical terminology and give expert medical opinions about the case.
“Your job as an expert witness is to help someone else understand what you are trying to say as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” Chempakasseril said. “As a lay witness you kind of have to create more of a character. You are also giving sufficient information, but it’s more so how well you can keep your composure in a courtroom.”
Chempakasseril said that while lay witnesses do have more freedom than expert witnesses to give more colorful performances, there needs to be a healthy balance between their performance and effectively giving out the right information.
“You have to display as much character as you can to be a likeable witness for your side, but you also can’t be uninformative,” Chempakasseril said.
Guilbeaux said that he highly recommends students to join the mock trial team and work their way up to becoming an attorney for the team. As an attorney for the team, Guilbeaux said that arguing a case in a public manner provides significant real world benefits in areas regarding public speaking.
“You’re the star of the show, you’re the one who’s in charge of that moment” Guilbeaux said. “That’s what mock trial gives you. Mock trial gives you that confidence to be able to go out there and do that.”
Guilbeaux said the club is not just for people who want to be a lawyer for their intended career. He said the skills regarding public speaking and thinking on your feet are skills necessary to excel at any profession.
“Any career path that you take from a doctor, a lawyer or even a construction worker, they’re going to have to adequately think on their feet and that is definitely something that mock trial teaches,” Guilbeaux said.
While the mock trial team had a strong showing in the regional tournament, the team was not able to qualify for the subsequent tournaments.
Right now, the team is making preparations for next season by conducting officer elections, recruiting new members and discussing strategies so that the team will be fired up and ready to begin tournaments again next fall.