Endownment
Mock Trial at WMU
The WMU Mock Trial program was founded in 1999. Dr. Peter Renstrom formed and coached two teams that competed for the first time in the 2000-01 season. The WMU team qualified for four national championships in ten years. The team was recognized as “Best New Team” in 2000 and received the “Spirit of AMTA Award” in 2000 and 2001. The team received "Honorable Mention Spirit of AMTA Award" in 2010. A number of WMU team members have been recognized as outstanding witnesses and attorneys.
Professor Renstrom and political science supporters of Mock Trial secured funding from various departments and organizations within the University, guaranteeing that the team had funds to travel to several tournaments each academic year. Beginning in fall 2006, Mock Trial was introduced as a for-credit course at WMU. The team now includes nearly 20 participants traveling to at least four events each year.
Why Mock Trial?
Mock trial is a time-controlled simulation of an actual civil or criminal trial. Students act as attorneys and witnesses for both the plaintiff and the defense. The American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) provides the case that is the basis for the simulation each year. The associated rules of court, rules of evidence and affidavits from a dozen different witnesses define the exercise. Following opening statements, the plaintiff and defense each call three witnesses. Attorneys conduct direct examinations of their own witnesses and cross-examine witnesses called by the other team. Attorneys can object to testimony and evidence by appealing to the AMTA rules of evidence, which are patterned after the Federal Rules of Evidence. Trials are concluded with closing arguments. Mock trial students compete in tournaments with other colleges and universities (600 nationwide). Attorneys or law school students judge performances.
Mock Trial requires critical thinking, effective public speaking, confidence, the capacity to think on one’s feet, and knowledge and application of trial advocacy. Mock trial also requires teamwork. Every case presents challenges and choices related to legal strategy and presentation. Team members have to develop a consensus about their case strategy and work together to be successful. This teamwork and other trial preparation activities create a valuable opportunity to develop collaboration and leadership skills.
Students benefit from participation in Mock Trial in a number of ways. The skills they develop not only help prospective lawyers, but also help students learn how to present and refine arguments, use facts and evidence, and critically assess claims made by others.
Both an extra curricular activity and a class offered by the Political Science Department, mock trial is a time-controlled simulation of an actual trial. Students will prepare work as attorneys and witnesses for both the plaintiff/prosecution and the defense. Following opening statements, the plaintiff and defense each call three witnesses. Attorneys conduct direct examinations of their own witness and cross-examine the witnesses called by the other team. Attorneys can object to testimony and evidence by applying and arguing rules of evidence. Trials are concluded with closing arguments. Mock trial students prepare for competitions against colleges and universities across the country. Performances are judged by attorneys or law school students. The case is provided by the American Mock Trial Association (http://www.collegemocktrial.org) and includes rules of court, rules of evidence and affidavits from a dozen different witnesses. Together, these materials define the parameters of the exercise.Teams must evaluate the witness statements and determine which witnesses to call for the plaintiff and defense sides of the case. Typically there are more witnesses than can be used in any one trial. This requires each team to assess the positives and negatives of each witness, all of whom have serious vulnerabilities on cross examination. Students need to familiarize themselves with all witness statements and prepare questions that will maximize utility to their side of the case.The mock trial season begins the first week of fall semester in September and lasts into March or April.
Support
Dr. Peter Renstrom, a member of the WMU faculty for 37 years, dedicated his life to the study of politics. An important part of this work was the creation of the Mock Trial program at WMU. This program has no permanent funding source at the University and is currently supported by the generous gifts of alumni, faculty and friends, and one-time funding by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Lee Honors College.
This funding arrangement makes the program vulnerable by undermining recruitment, faculty and staff investment of time and energy, and community support. This vulnerability also limits the number of students the program can serve and places WMU students at a competitive disadvantage in national competition. The Department of Political Science has adopted a goal of raising $500,000 to fully endow the Mock Trial program. This endowment would provide funding to ensure the continuing success and future growth of the program.
The program has inspired, educated and assisted dozens of undergraduates, many of whom have continued on to law school and are now practicing attorneys. The Department, the College of Arts and Sciences, and Professor Renstrom’s family are committed to preserving the Mock Trial program and increasing the number of students who participate. One important aspect of this effort will be the establishment of a permanent endowment to support registration, travel and instruction.
The long-term success of the program depends on community support, especially from lawyers and other members of the legal community. While many faculty advisers are political science or constitutional law experts, they are typically not lawyers. This means that a successful program needs local attorneys to help the students apply often unfamiliar legal concepts, rules, and current decisions to the case.
Local attorneys are also very helpful when it comes to trial strategy and presentation, how to move effectively in a courtroom, how to approach sympathetic and/or hostile witnesses, and what kinds of arguments are most compelling in bench trials as opposed to jury trials.
Interaction with local lawyers also helps students determine if they want to pursue a legal career. Students can see how real lawyers and law firms function and ask their attorney coaches about their caseloads and professional lives. These lawyers often take an interest in the students beyond mock trial, provide law school recommendations, and help students establish themselves in a legal community.
The time to invest is now.
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Travel
The largest expense for the Mock Trial program is the cost of travelling to and attending tournaments. An endowment of $500,000 would provide sufficient income to cover the travel expenses of three teams to regional tournaments and the national tournament
Publicity
The WMU Mock Trial program and the Department of Political Science are working on a campaign to generate publicity about this opportunity for WMU students. The campaign focuses on educating our own students, especially our majors, about the program and contacting high school faculty advisers to recruit high school Mock Trial participants to attend WMU. Our objective is to recruit and attract students to WMU from approximately 60 Michigan high schools with Mock Trial programs.
Exhibits and Equipment
Individual teams are responsible for preparing exhibits for presentation at trial. The team works with graphic designers and artists to prepare exhibits that may map out details of a crime or event, detail injuries or damage, or recreate important elements of the case.
Instruction
The vast majority of universities and colleges that have mock trial programs also have faculty advisers. In fact, the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) recognizes faculty advisers as the underpinnings of the program. Teams that do not have faculty advisers are at a significant competitive disadvantage. These teams do not have representatives who can voice concerns over tabulation errors, judging conflicts or other issues that arise during tournaments.
The faculty adviser is the liaison between AMTA and a participating university, as well as a critical part of the success of the program at any school. A faculty member in the Department of Political Science typically takes on the faculty adviser role. The faculty adviser not only teaches the for-credit class, but attends out-of-class meetings and practices, coordinates tournament registration and travel, and attends weekend tournaments.
A long-term objective for the program is to establish a permanent line of funding to provide compensation for the faculty adviser and for the attorney coach.
Tax-deductible contributions to Mock Trial may be mailed to the WMU Foundation at:
WMU Foundation
117 West Walwood Hall
Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5403
The professional staff of WMU’s Development Office helps donors identify giving strategies that will fulfill their personal, family, and business goals. Annual and multi-year gifts of cash, securities, and property are welcomed, as well as charitable annuity and estate gifts. Give online using a credit card.
For more information on ways to give, please contact:
Trish Leeighton
Director of Development
College of Arts and Sciences
Telephone: (269) 387-4355