STLA Officers and Info
STLA Board Members | Intramural Mock Trial Program | Recommended Resources | Links
STLA Board
President: Christopher Rogers
Vice President: Hillary Ellis
Secretary: Kyle McFarlane
Treasurer: Amelia Bertler
Marketing Director: Jenna Bechtholdt
Director of Coaching: Christopher Curtis
Director of Judges: Vanessa Otero
Members at large: Craig Blake and Elizabeth Rand
Image caption: Phil McGrane, Emily Teel, Elizabeth Meier, Nicole Quintana, Alison Davis, Jonathan Hiller, Kevin Keyes
Intramural Mock Trial Program
STLA’s signature event is an intramural mock trial program held every fall. Participating in this program is a great first step for any law student interested in learning how to be a trial advocate, developing skills to use in moot court board competitions, sharpening public speaking skills, or discovering how to apply legal concepts learned in the classroom. The program gives students excellent opportunities to develop and practice their trial skills in a non-competitive environment.
Program participants, usually 1st and occasionally 2nd year law students, are placed in teams of four to five members. Teams are then given a problem that must be resolved in the courtroom. With the assistance of coaches, who are usually 2nd or 3rd year law students who are experienced trial advocates, teams prepare to represent their client. This preparation includes strategizing case theories, drafting opening and closing statements, developing direct and cross-examinations, and learning how to make evidentiary objections.
Teams then develop and hone their advocacy skills by participating in three mock trial rounds against other teams. Throughout the three rounds, teams will eventually have to represent both the plaintiff and the defendant. The first round is judged by 2nd or 3rd year law students who have advanced knowledge and training in trial advocacy. Practicing trial attorneys judge the second round. Real judges adjudicate the third and final round. Program participants receive invaluable feedback from these experienced and knowledgeable judges; with every passing round, students learn how to succeed in the courtroom.
Because all mock trial participants should strive to be credible trial attorneys, participants are expected to wear professional dress for all three rounds.
Recommended Resources
- Federal Rules of Evidence
Available at the DU Bookstore and Online.
- Evidence Examples and Explanations, by Arthur Best
Available at the SBA Bookstore and the DU Bookstore.
- Modern Trial Advocacy, Law School Edition, by NITA
Available at the DU Bookstore
- NITA Federal Rules of Evidence with Objections
Available at the DU Bookstore .
Links