IU students participate in mock trial competition

IU’s Phi Alpha Delta traveled to Chicago Thursday and stayed until Saturday to compete against 18 different teams from eight different schools at the John Marshall Law School for the fifth annual national diversity mock trial competition.\nPhi Alpha Delta is IU’s pre-law fraternity composed of undergraduates, law students, legal educators, attorneys, judges and government officials. \nThe annual competition provides undergraduate students with a case that they have to practice, interpret and present to judges against one other and other students. Three people compete on a team, in which each member is from a different school, providing diversity throughout the mock trial. One member acts as the direct examiner presenting an opening statement, another member is the cross-examiner presenting the closing statement, while the third participant is portraying the witness in the mock case. \nJohn Marshall Law School provided first-place winners with $15,000 scholarships for each member, $9,000 for second place and $3,000 for third-place winners.\nJunior Katelyn Bullman competed through Phi Alpha Delta and successfully won two of the three rounds on Friday and was able to move ahead to the final four on Saturday. Bullman’s team consisted of a member from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a member from Carroll University. Even in tough competition, Bullman and her team pulled through to take third place and gain $3,000 toward their graduate careers.\n“Kate did a stellar job,” said senior Kyle McNamara, a participant for the mock trial.\nEven though all IU members didn’t make it into the final rounds, they supported and watched Bullman’s trial as the defendant. \n“It gives participants the opportunity to experience the court room as it appears in real life,” Bullman said. \nMost participants competing had been doing mock trials for several years. But this was IU’s first time competing. \n“We came into this competition against all odds,” sophomore Jackie Webster said.\nUnlike other members, Webster had half the time to prepare compared to other members. \n“Our team was less experienced than the average participant that was present at the competition,” McNamara said. \nAlthough they came against all odds, the team pulled through and helped Bullman prepare for the final rounds. \n“The mock trial was a very helpful learning experience,” Webster said. “All of this was new to me.” \nThe competition gave Webster a better look at whether or not law is the right path for her to travel on and study.\nJunior Justin Tyminski said the competition helped him learn what to do and how to act in the courtroom. \n“It was a whole new world for me,” he said. This was the first time Tyminski was able to present himself as an attorney at law for both the plaintiff and defendant of the particular case studied.\nMcNamara said he had fun experiencing these challenges presented to him and he gained valuable experience that he can later use in his future.\nRory Dean Smith, associate dean for the John Marshall Law School, said the school works to provide diversity throughout their school while also providing undergraduate students the chance to see if they may have a future interest in law school. \n“We try and provide the opportunity for undergraduate students from around the nation to compete with other universities for three different scholarships toward their graduate career,” Smith said. “We try and give students the opportunity to experience what real life is like.”