OHIO Mock Trial to Compete in Cincinnati Regional Competition in February

The Ohio University Mock Trial Team will send two teams to compete in a regional tournament in Cincinnati in February.

Members of the mock trial team at Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

The teams will compete at Xavier University on Feb. 9-10 for the American Mock Trial Association regional competition against universities such as Miami University, University of Dayton, Michigan State, Indiana University, and Purdue University.

After holding competitive tryouts in Fall 2018, the Ohio University Mock Trial Team began practicing in September and has divided into two teams of approximately 10 students each. These two teams consist of both a plaintiff team as well as a defense team. Each team has 6 attorneys with three representing the plaintiff and three representing the defense. The attorneys are responsible for developing themes, theories, opening statements, and closing arguments. Attorneys also work with witnesses in order to develop a direct examination and prepare for cross-examination. Witnesses are responsible for knowing all information that is relevant to their respective assignment, and for working with their attorney to develop a character.

This year’s case is Midlands Television Studios v. Danny Kosack, a civil case involving dueling claims of negligence. The claims revolve around an animal trainer who was asked to bring a chimpanzee to a television show, but the performance went horribly awry, resulting in the death of an employee of the television studio. Students have the opportunity to call a variety of witnesses such as Alex Grace, the host of the television show, Hunter Cooper, a stalker of the show host who was on set that day, Danny Kosack, the animal trainer, and Harper Villafana, the spouse of a writer who died during the taping.

Students prior to competition

During the fall semester one team was sent to participate at the Scarlet & Grey Invitational in Columbus, hosted by The Ohio State University. Since then, the teams have met both individually and separately for several hours each week developing their themes, theories, and witnesses. The team also held a two-day workshop to help students prepare for the regional over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

Mock Trial assists students in developing speech-delivery skills, oral and written communication skills, interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, and many others.

Members of the 2018-2019 are:

Students selected for the 2018-2019 Mock Trial team are:

• Amal Afyouni, a senior studying Political Science and Sociology-Criminology, with a minor in Economics and a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Diamond Brooks
• Austen Burns, a junior majoring in Economics
• Ryan Crowley, a senior studying History and Political Science
• Michael Ferris, a first year student studying Communication
• David Giddens, a sophomore studying Political Science Pre-Law, with a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Ellen Gill, a first year student studying English Pre-Law, with a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Alexis Karolin, a History HTC first year student
• Lillian Mattimoe, a sophomore Political Science Pre-Law and Criminology major with a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Hayes Minich, a senior Psychology and Sociology-Criminology student with a minor in Political Science
• Molly Moore, a first year student majoring in Political Science Pre-Law
• Taryn Osborne, a senior studying Political Science Pre-Law, with a minor in Spanish and a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Jada Sparks, a junior Political Science student with a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Kristin Tate, a junior double majoring in Political Science and Sociology-Criminology, with a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture
• Gabrielle Tharp, a Political Science and History major with a minor in World Religions
• Lori Turner, a second year Political Science student
• Lydia Wendel, a sophomore majoring in Political Science Pre-Law, with a minor in Anthropology and a certificate in Law, Justice & Culture

Winning teams from each regional tournament will advance to the Opening Round Championship Series in March. The team is coached by Ohio University’s Pre-Law Specialist Larry Hayman of the Center for Law, Justice & Culture.