How Does Mock Trial Work?
OVERVIEW
The American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) releases a mock court case each August to all 400+ participating colleges across the country. The cases alternate annually between civil and criminal trials, and take place in the imaginary U.S. state of Midlands. The facts of the cases are strategically balanced between the prosecution/plaintiff and defense, so that in any given round the better advocates should win. Competitors fill 3 attorney and 3 witness roles, preparing together as a team in order to present a sound & polished case at tournaments.
CASE MATERIALS
The case provided each year is well over 100 pages! It is filled with photos of physical evidence, legal documents pertaining to the case, and written statements, interviews, and reports from the various witnesses that can be called at trial. Throughout the season, AMTA updates the case with minor substantive changes to keep rounds balanced and competitors on their toes. Prior to the National Championship in the Spring, AMTA creates an entirely new case for the top 48 teams nationwide to re-learn and present for a chance at the national title.
ROUND STRUCTURE
Each round of a collegiate Mock Trial competition is comprised mainly of speeches and witness examinations. The Prosecution/Plaintiff (Π) goes first at each individual step, the Defense (Δ) follows, and then teams proceed to the next step. First, teams address any pre-trial matters they have for the court. Second, teams present Opening Statements for around 5 minutes, which aim to provide the jury with proper context for the remainder of the trial. Next, each team presents its case-in-chief. This consists of putting 3 witnesses on the stand, out of roughly 5 to choose from, and conducting a Direct Examination of each witness.
During the opposing side's case-in-chief, teams get to conduct a Cross Examination of the witnesses called by the other side. Finally, teams give Closing Arguments for around 9 minutes apiece. Closing Arguments address the facts brought out during trial, rebut damaging claims made by the other team, touch on the law relevant to the case, and wrap up the trial.
During the opposing side's case-in-chief, teams get to conduct a Cross Examination of the witnesses called by the other side. Finally, teams give Closing Arguments for around 9 minutes apiece. Closing Arguments address the facts brought out during trial, rebut damaging claims made by the other team, touch on the law relevant to the case, and wrap up the trial.
SCORING
A typical Mock Trial round has 2 to 3 scoring "judges", and someone to act as the presiding judge that makes any necessary in-round rulings about evidence and procedure. The scoring judges rate individual competitors (both attorneys and witnesses) from 1 to 10 on the various facets of trial detailed above in bold. At the end of the trial, the team with the highest point total wins the ballot of that judge. It is possible to win the ballot of one judge, but lose the other in the same round. This counts as one win and one loss, rather than a tie. Ties are possible in mock trial, but only occur when a single judge gives both teams exactly the same point total. A team's Point Differential (PD) is simply their combined total score minus the combined total scored against them.
Combined Strength (CS) is a metric of the difficulty of a team's schedule at a given tournament. It is measured simply by adding up the total wins of the team's various opponents over the course of the tournament, even those wins that were against other teams. A standard tournament has 4 rounds with 2 ballots up for grabs in each, so a perfectly average team would theoretically earn a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. If a team faces perfectly average opponents throughout a tournament, they would end with a CS of 16 (4 wins per opponent x 4 opponents). CS is typically the first tie-breaker used to decide tournament results.
Individual awards are not decided by scoring averages, but rather judges' ranks. In a given round, each judge will rank the top 4 attorneys and the top 4 witnesses in order on their ballot. A 1st place ranking earns an individual 5 ranks, a 2nd place ranking earns 4, and so on. The 5th and 6th best competitors in the round do not get ranked individually, and do not earn any ranks toward their individual totals. At a 4 round tournament with 2 scoring judges per round, the maximum possible rank total is 20 (5 ranks x 2 judges x 2 rounds). This is because Prosecution and Defense ranks are compiled separately, so as not to unfairly penalize competitors who compete as a witness for one side and an attorney on the other, or who only compete on one side of the case. Each additional scoring judge will increase the maximum by 10. The cutoff for earning an individual award varies, but will almost always land somewhere between 15 & 19 ranks at a standard 2 judge tournament.
Combined Strength (CS) is a metric of the difficulty of a team's schedule at a given tournament. It is measured simply by adding up the total wins of the team's various opponents over the course of the tournament, even those wins that were against other teams. A standard tournament has 4 rounds with 2 ballots up for grabs in each, so a perfectly average team would theoretically earn a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. If a team faces perfectly average opponents throughout a tournament, they would end with a CS of 16 (4 wins per opponent x 4 opponents). CS is typically the first tie-breaker used to decide tournament results.
Individual awards are not decided by scoring averages, but rather judges' ranks. In a given round, each judge will rank the top 4 attorneys and the top 4 witnesses in order on their ballot. A 1st place ranking earns an individual 5 ranks, a 2nd place ranking earns 4, and so on. The 5th and 6th best competitors in the round do not get ranked individually, and do not earn any ranks toward their individual totals. At a 4 round tournament with 2 scoring judges per round, the maximum possible rank total is 20 (5 ranks x 2 judges x 2 rounds). This is because Prosecution and Defense ranks are compiled separately, so as not to unfairly penalize competitors who compete as a witness for one side and an attorney on the other, or who only compete on one side of the case. Each additional scoring judge will increase the maximum by 10. The cutoff for earning an individual award varies, but will almost always land somewhere between 15 & 19 ranks at a standard 2 judge tournament.
TOURNAMENTS
In the Fall and Winter, programs across the country host their own Invitational tournaments. The organization of invitationals falls largely to the individual program, so they can range widely in field size, competitive difficulty, and structure. Aside from the scoring caveats explained above, however, individual rounds are generally conducted the same invitational-by-invitational.
In the Spring, AMTA solicits the help of roughly 35 universities nationwide to host 3-tiers of tournaments to crown one winner from over 750 teams. These tournaments are overseen by AMTA and are made as uniform as possible. In February, teams travel to specific Regional tournaments assigned to them to compete for bids to the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS). There are 30+ Regional tournaments per year, but less than 10 ORCS tournaments. 6-9 teams receive a bid from each Regional, cutting the pool down to 192 ORCS-qualifying teams. Each program may send a maximum of two teams past the regional level. At each ORCS tournament, there are 5-6 bids to Nationals waiting for the best of the best.
The National Championship begins by splitting qualifying teams into 2 equal-strength, 24-team divisions. Teams compete in a 4 round tournament among their division, typically with extra scoring judges each round. The first place teams from each division then face off in a head-to-head round to decide the AMTA National Champion.
In the Spring, AMTA solicits the help of roughly 35 universities nationwide to host 3-tiers of tournaments to crown one winner from over 750 teams. These tournaments are overseen by AMTA and are made as uniform as possible. In February, teams travel to specific Regional tournaments assigned to them to compete for bids to the Opening Round Championship Series (ORCS). There are 30+ Regional tournaments per year, but less than 10 ORCS tournaments. 6-9 teams receive a bid from each Regional, cutting the pool down to 192 ORCS-qualifying teams. Each program may send a maximum of two teams past the regional level. At each ORCS tournament, there are 5-6 bids to Nationals waiting for the best of the best.
The National Championship begins by splitting qualifying teams into 2 equal-strength, 24-team divisions. Teams compete in a 4 round tournament among their division, typically with extra scoring judges each round. The first place teams from each division then face off in a head-to-head round to decide the AMTA National Champion.
NATIONAL POWER RANKINGS
At the close of each season, AMTA compiles the results of their tournaments and produces a National Power Ranking. AMTA calculates the rankings by considering only team performances at ORCS tournaments and the National Championship from the previous 3 seasons. All team performances from the same school are not combined in creating one program rank, but rather each team is ranked by its own merit alone. Invitational tournaments do not factor into the ranking. More recent results carry more weight than older results, and Nationals results likewise mean more than ORCS results. As each program is barred by AMTA from sending more than 2 teams past the Regional round, a program can have 0-2 ranked teams. Check out the Gamecocks' past rankings over in our Results!
What do you look for in prospective members?
We want students who are eager to learn, passionate about advocacy, and quick on their feet. Show us that you can deliver information with confidence & style, think logically, and present yourself professionally. Experience in mock trial, debate, theater, model UN, academic competition, or another similar activity is worth mentioning but is by no means required! We happily welcome students of all disciplines, as mock trial provides opportunities and builds skill-sets that extend beyond the law.
Why should i join?
Competition
We believe the best way to develop skills central to mock trial like public speaking, acting, and critical thinking is through hands-on experience in high stakes settings. Winning isn't everything, but we do our fair share of that too! In 2019, we made it through two levels of elimination tournaments to qualify for the National Championship, where we finished in 10th. This past season, all four teams made it through regionals and helped us make our program ranked 25th in the nation!
Community
Our program is made up of 35-45 talented and engaged gamecocks. We practice, compete, travel, eat, win, lose, and laugh together. The ups and downs of a mock trial season forges friendships that you won't soon forget!
Travel
Our teams have competed in tournaments from Connecticut to North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and everywhere in-between. You'll get to visit cities like Atlanta, Chicago, D.C. & New York. If law school is your path, representatives from the best are commonly at tournaments to meet you and answer questions!
We believe the best way to develop skills central to mock trial like public speaking, acting, and critical thinking is through hands-on experience in high stakes settings. Winning isn't everything, but we do our fair share of that too! In 2019, we made it through two levels of elimination tournaments to qualify for the National Championship, where we finished in 10th. This past season, all four teams made it through regionals and helped us make our program ranked 25th in the nation!
Community
Our program is made up of 35-45 talented and engaged gamecocks. We practice, compete, travel, eat, win, lose, and laugh together. The ups and downs of a mock trial season forges friendships that you won't soon forget!
Travel
Our teams have competed in tournaments from Connecticut to North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and everywhere in-between. You'll get to visit cities like Atlanta, Chicago, D.C. & New York. If law school is your path, representatives from the best are commonly at tournaments to meet you and answer questions!
