How does one prepare for a college mock trial?
Every year AMTA publishes a fictional case, either criminal or civil. The case materials include witness statements, statutes, case law, exhibits, and rules of evidence and competition. Based on the materials provided, each team must design a cohesive case theory, deciding which witnesses to call to the stand and which facts of the case to prove. In trial, each side has three attorneys and three witnesses. The witnesses are selected about thirty minutes before the trial begins, and the case materials provide more than six witnesses, so a team must be prepared for all possible scenarios of witness selection. Once the trial begins, each team presents an opening statement; direct examinations of three witnesses; cross-examinations the other team’s witnesses; and closing arguments. Every student attorney must perform a direct and cross examination. Additionally, one attorney performs the opening statement, and another attorney presents the closing argument. Evidentiary objections, as permi
