UW mock trial team argues its way to nationals

For the first time in 14 years, the UW mock trial team reached nationals, thanks to a combination of hard work, both teamwork and leadership, and very long hours.

At the nationals competition in Lancaster, Penn. on April 8-10, the team ranked 11th out of 48 teams, and received its first-ever All-American Attorney, freshman Jackson Kunde, who ranked 25th overall.

“Regionals was the goal… [and then] we made it past regionals, and that was a really big deal,” said team captain Jack Styler. “It was just really a good year for the program as a whole.” 

Team member Alexandra Webb said: “It was kind of a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of thing.”

The American Mock Trial Association-certificated student-led organization consists of an “A” team and a “B” team. The teams compete against other universities each year while gaining experience in a courtroom setting.  They also develop strong public speaking skills through competition.

This past fall, the UW mock trial team competed in a regionals competition against other universities in the country. Teams prep a “case” made by the AMTA and those that do well go onto the next round. Both the UW “A” and “B” team advanced to the next round. There, they use the same “case” they prepared for regionals, but there’s a case change that teams have to prepare for: this year the change included a few new witnesses who added new facts to the case and became eyewitnesses to the crime. 

The UW “A” team was one of 48 total teams that advanced to nationals. 

“Even though everyone is competing with the same case, it’s cool because everyone can put their own twists or turns on them,” Styler said. 

Styler, a senior, is majoring in history and political science. He joined the UW mock trial team his freshmen year and became co-captain last academic year. 

Webb, a sophomore, is in her first year of UW Mock Trial but has been involved in mock trials since high school. Webb plans to pursue pre-law and wanted practice in the court setting. 

“(In high school) I was really working on my public speaking and just being a more confident public speaker, especially in a professional environment, ” she said.” 

This year, the 90-page nationals case was a criminal case about misconduct at a police station. 

“Nationals prep work has been intense,” Webb said, “For nationals, we have three weeks to prep an entire case, whereas at the beginning of the year we had months to prep a 200-page case.” 

The UW mock trial team prepared vigorously for nationals, spending around 45-50 hours a week preparing.

“There’s a lot of writing and practicing, and then you have to be fully memorized,” Styler said.

However, Styler noted that, even if the team prepares for everything, there are always surprises. “You can prep everything [and] have everything memorized, but improvisation is also a big part of mock trial,” Styler said, “it’s about adapting on the spot.”

Prepping for the case involved coming up with theories about the case, as well as writing materials and creating witness characters. 

On the team, Styler plays a lawyer, and Webb is a witness. 

“Mock trial involves critical thinking and speaking from a lawyer’s perspective, but there are also witnesses,” Webb said. “I play a witness and that’s basically where you get like an affidavit, as a statement of this person, and you just become this person.”

“It’s quite fascinating,” Webb said, “it involves a lot of creativity… on the defense side, I play a lavish nightclub owner.” 

For Styler, part of the excitement of being a captain is seeing the team Improve: “It’s been very rewarding being a captain this year because I’ve just seen people get so much better,” Styler said, “there’s just so much natural talent.”

Styler and Webb each attributed the success of this year’s team to both the team as a whole, and to the talented coaching they receive. 

“It’s really a combination of our team members and our amazing coaches,” Webb said, “I feel like team bonding and blending as a team is something super unique, and I think it’s part of the reason we’ve made it so far.”. 

“The team has become such a huge part of my life on campus,” Webb said, “mock trial has become such a special part of my experience here at UW.”