Revitalizing Undergraduate Programs Through Intercollegiate Mock Trial Competition

Abstract

Chief Justices meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, endorsed mock trial competition as a means of promoting greater understanding of the legal system. Initially, the national collegiate tournament was sponsored by the Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. Richard Calkins, then dean, was influential in establishing mock trial competition, and he has subsequently served as the guiding light of the American Mock Trial Association. AMTA has now become an independent corporation with an expanding board of directors made up of representatives from undergraduate institutions throughout the country. In addition to the national tournament, AMTA sponsored a variety of invitational tournaments and 11 regional mock trial competitions during the 1993-94 school year. These, in turn, qualified students to participate in one of three flights of national competition, two held in Des Moines, Iowa, and the third (primarily for new schools) held at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. The activity is also growing at the high school level, providing colleges and universities with established mock trial programs an effective recruiting tool that is especially appealing to good students.