Connector Staff
UMass Lowell’s Mock Trial team is nothing to mock. The team recently competed in the Mock Trial Regionals at Saint Anselm’s College in Manchester, N.H., and came home with a 4-4 record and an Outstanding Witness Award. This concluded their competitive year with the university’s best record yet.
The Mock Trial Team, established and headed in 2007 by the university’s pre-law adviser, Frank Talty, consists of nine active members. Members are given case materials at the beginning of the year, and prepare a plaintiff and a defense argument. The plaintiff is the party which presses charges against a defense, initiating a lawsuit. The mock team presented against rival college teams. Two judges scored each individual’s performance on a scale of one to 10, and the team with the highest total score won.
For their first trial, UMass Lowell presented a defense case against Tufts University, one of the best mock trial teams in New England. After three hours, the results were in: on the ballot of one judge, Tufts edged out UMass Lowell by one point, and on the ballot of the second judge, UMass Lowell scored 13 fewer points than Tufts.
The team remained positive about this outcome. “This shows how strong our team has the potential of being, coming within one point of a nationally competitive team,” said James Christopher, a sophomore and co-captain of the team. “We lost by only one point to Tufts on one ballot, a top team at this tournament,” he said.
The tables turned when UMass Lowell presented charges against their opposing team, Bowdoin College. UMass Lowell swept the two ballots easily, garnering wins from both judges.
The third trial took place against Amherst College. UMass Lowell’s defense offered a strong case that seemingly defeated Amherst. However, when the ballots were in, Amherst barely squeezed out UMass Lowell by two points on one ballot. UMass Lowell won the other ballot.
In their fourth and final trial, UMass Lowell competed against Wesleyan University. Again, they ended up splitting the ballots 1-1. UMass Lowell won one ballot but lost the other, cementing their final record of 4-4.
Despite disappointment, Christopher was proud of the team’s performance. “We came within three points of being 6-2, as we lost to Amherst by two points in one ballot. I am proud of what we did and I look forward to us taking the next step next year,” he said.
Christopher wasn’t the only one who was pleased. “I was very impressed and pleased with how everyone on our team conducted themselves professionally, worked hard and came so close to going to the next round,” said Talty, who has advised the team since its inception eight years ago.
For his convincing and skillful testimony, Paul Murphy, a freshman political science major, was awarded the prestigious Outstanding Witness Award. Recipients of this honor have demonstrated excellent skill at truly embracing their character, acting it out persuasively while contributing credibility to their team’s case.
“I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, and was happy to help my team. I had a lot of fun last weekend, and I’m looking forward to next year,” said Murphy.
Outstanding Witness Awards are not new to UMass Lowell. Just last October, at the University of New Hampshire Invitational, Robert Callahan, a freshman criminal justice major, brought one home after his very first UMass Lowell competition.
Talty, cognizant of the promising talent on the team, shared his pride. “This team, as well as it did, has no graduating seniors. The future looks bright for next year. I am hoping that everyone returns, as well as looking forward to seeing some fresh new faces. Everyone on the team feels that they are on a position to go much further next year. We expect great things.”
Although the Mock Trial team is done for this year, the Pre-Law Society has some exciting upcoming events. There will be a Law School Information Session Friday, Feb. 20. It will be held in Room 342 of the Health and Social Sciences Building, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Talty encourages anyone interested in attending law school to come.
Admissions representatives from Suffolk University Law School, Northeastern University Law School, and the University of Massachusetts Law School at Dartmouth will discuss the law school application process and will field questions from students.
“This is a good opportunity to hear from those that actually make the decisions, what type of student and background each of these schools is looking for,” Talty said. “This session is open to all UMass Lowell students.”
If you have any further questions, Talty can be contacted at Francis_Talty@uml.edu.
