Welcome to Mock Trial!

History and Purpose: Wellesley College Mock Trial

The Wellesley College Mock Trial team was founded in 2000 to provide students with the opportunity to learn about the work of trial attorneys, better understand the judicial system, develop critical thinking skills, and enhance communication and public speaking ability through participation in mock trials sponsored by the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA).

Meetings are held twice weekly throughout the year on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7 pm to 9 pm. As we approach tournaments, we will increase the number and length of meetings. Membership constitutes a serious time commitment, often comparable to taking a fifth class, and as such the team is made up of highly dedicated and enthusiastic members. Depending on the number of students expressing interest and devotion to the team at the beginning of the year, Wellesley may field 2 or 3 subteams per year, as each team competing in tournaments is limited to 8 members. There are currently 14 members, split into 2 subteams of 7, with the teams meeting both together and individually to prepare for competition.

Structure: General Overview

Each August, AMTA releases a new, fictional case (alternating yearly between criminal and civil matters), containing a summary of the incident in question, affidavits of witnesses explaining different facets of the case, exhibits to support the witness affidavits, and relevant case law. The team begins work on the case in September, developing a case theory for both the prosecution / plaintiff and defense sides of the case. The team competes against several other colleges, including Harvard, Yale, and NYU, at several tournaments over the course of the year, where students play the roles of attorneys and witnesses in the format of a real trial. Though it is similar to acting, a good team is distinguished by their ability to think and respond quickly on its feet as things occur during trials. The mark of a good team is their ability to respond to the trial at hand and alter their case theory to win over the judges and win the trial.

During trial, actual attorneys and judges will watch the round and score witnesses for their ability to portray their characters effectively and attorneys for their ability to respond to objections, rulings and the answers of both their own witnesses and those of other teams. During Regionals, these scores determine qualify teams to compete either at the National Tournament (Silver) or the National Championship Tournament (Gold).

For a summary of past cases, please see some sample cases.

For a more in-depth description of the roles of attorneys and witnesses, please visit our Image map.

Resources

* Please note that the Word Document files can only be accessed on the Wellesley College campus.

AMTA Rules	AMTA Announcements	Rules of Evidence	Perjuries
Constitution	Prosecution Opening	Prosecution Closing	Defense Closing
Prosecution Direct	Prosecution Cross	Defense Direct	Defense Cross