Carnegie Mellon University
Mock Trial

Swear Me In Scotty Invitational

We're looking forward to our invitational, taking placing December 1st and 2nd! Pairings and other updates will be posted on Twitter by @tartanmocktrial.

If you're a lawyer, law student, or former mock trial participant, we'd love to have you join us as a judge! You can sign up here or contact us at cmumocktrial@gmail.com.

The Case

This year's case involves a chimpanzee gone wild on TV, killing a writer and drawing the chimpanzee's training into question. We're looking forward to a great season of Midlands Television Studios v. Danny Kosack!

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About Mock Trial

Carnegie Mellon Mock Trial has been around for over 15 years and is still very active. We're entirely student-run and student-coached, and we love what we do! Over the past couple years, we've been growing and improving at a rapid pace. During our most recent season, Carnegie Mellon received a bid to the Opening Round Championships, and brought back numerous individual awards.

But who are we, really? We're a group of undergraduates with diverse interests who come together with a common passion. With members from Dietrich College, Computer Science, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Tepper School of Business, and more, Mock Trial at CMU has become much more than a law program. We're CMU's premier competitive debate/public speaking program, and we welcome people with no previous Mock Trial experience. So, if you're interested in joining, or just want to find out what we do, don't hesitate to say hi!

What is Mock Trial?

Essentially, Mock Trial is a combination of public speaking, debate, and acting. At the beginning of every academic year, we are presented with a new case. It is our job, as attorneys and witnesses, to develop a strategy for both sides of the case and present it to a judge or several judges. We present our cases in the style of a mock courtroom against an opposing team from another university. We develop theories about the case, explore characters of witnesses, and try to anticipate what other teams could bring against us. It's funsies. For your reading pleasure.

I've never done Mock Trial before, but I'm interested in Speech and Debate, MUN, Moot Court, etc.

Mock Trial incorporates a lot of elements from other public speaking or debate organizations that you may have participated in during High School.

Tell me a little about Mock Trial at CMU

We are CMU's premier competitive public speaking and debate program (and proud of it). We have two teams that travel to tournaments and compete against other schools. We're also a proud member of the American Mock Trial Association, the governing organization for the college circuit of Mock Trial. We are largely self-run and self-coached, so every team member contributes heavily to all aspects of case development. Most of us are pretty cool, so come by a meeting to get to know a little more about us and the organization.

What kind of a time committment is it?

Truth be told, Mock Trial is probably one of the more time-consuming clubs at CMU. We expect at least two to three meetings a week, and each meeting typically lasts 2-3 hours. Depending on your team and its captains, this can vary. The weeks before tournaments are generally more packed than other weeks, but, again, to varying degrees.

I'm not really interested in becoming a lawyer, but Mock Trial sounds interesting.

Never fear! At a school like CMU that's filled with techy, sciencey, and artsy people, it's no surprise that many of the people involved with Mock Trial have not been, are not, and likely never will be interested in becoming a lawyer. Our teams are littered with students studying Computer Science, Creative Writing, Engineering, Physics, Math, and Music. Whoever you are, if you're interested in what we do, you'll fit right in.

Looking for more information?

Contact us regarding any questions, comments, or concerns.

2018-2019 Officers

Elizabeth Elrod

President

Bowen He

Team Captain

Harleigh Awner

Vice President & Team Captain

Agatha Woodbury

Team Captain

Olivia Husak

PR Chair

Cayden Codel

Fundraising Chair

TJ Pascucci

Tournament Director & Team Captain

Feel free to email any of us directly if you have any questions at all!

Join

Recruitment for 2018-2019 is in progress! Join our mailing list to get updates about the audition process! Feel free to contact us with any questions!

Learn more about the audition process here.

Swear Me In Scotty Invitational

We're looking forward to our invitational, taking placing December 2nd-3rd! Pairings and other updates will be posted on Twitter by @tartanmocktrial.

If you're a lawyer, law student, or former mocker, we'd love to have you join us as a judge! You can sign up here or contact us at cmumocktrial@gmail.com.

Contact Us

If you're interested in anything related to Mock Trial, we'd be happy to talk to you. You can reach us by email if you have any questions. You can also join our mailing list to receive updates about our events.