Creighton University Mock Trial Team

Mock Trial is a student-run organization at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton teams compete in mock trial tournaments across the Midwest. These tournaments are overseen by the American Mock Trial Association, and take place during the entirety of the academic year.

Mock Trial reenacts the argument of a case at the trial level in the fictional state of Midlands. Each team takes a side in the case – either the prosecution in criminal cases and plaintiff for civil cases (depends on the year), or the defense – and divides its members into teams, each made up of attorneys and witnesses. Each Creighton team usually has between 6 and 10 members.

The attorneys role is to help advance the case through opening and closing statements, using direct examinations of the witnesses on their side, and cross examining the witnesses on the other side.

It’s the witnesses’ job, then, to bolster their side of the case by fending off the aggressive and revealing questions of the other attorney, while acting out the role of the character you are playing. (This is where acting becomes important)

Both witnesses and attorney face constraints that make Mock Trail both challenging and fun.  Witnesses must stay on script: that is, their story or evidence must be consistent with what is written in their affidavit (basically a written testimony) in the case materials provided by the American Mock Trial Association and attorneys must adhere to the Rules of Evidence, which governs what questions and answers each party may ask and give.