Mock Trial Club’s strong performance helps students prepare for regional championships

Before even starting law school, a group of Central Washington University students is making its presence felt in the courtroom.

CWU’s Mock Trial Club has enjoyed a strong season this year, scoring high in invitational competitions against teams from much larger schools and setting the stage for a powerful performance at the regional championships in February.

CWU Law and Justice Senior Lecturer R. Shaffer Claridge, who serves as an advisor and coach to the team alongside Pardies Roohani and Alice Miller, commended this year’s students for bringing their best into the courtroom.

“This is a really, really special group of students,” he said. “One thing about these invitationals is that they bring in the top teams in the nation, so our victories were against institutions like Oregon State and Reed College. I love all my teams, but something I’ve seen in this particular group is a strong desire to face off with the very best. This is a group that loves to fight, together.”

In a mock trial setting, contestants are tasked with studying every facet of a case presented to them by the American Mock Trial Association at the beginning of the season in August. Teams must then present cases for both the defense and prosecution, swapping sides with their opponents halfway through each tournament. The presiding judge ranks team performances on a ballot and crowns a winner based on a scoring rubric that takes every part of the trial into account.

CWU Senior and Political Science major Rachel Andrzejewski believes the diversity of the tasks involved gives the club a broad appeal.

“While many of us are affiliated with the Law and Justice program in some way, we also get members from all sorts of majors, like design and political science,” said Andrzejewski, who serves as captain of the club’s prosecution team. “The skills we hone through this club are applicable to a broad variety of careers.”

The club’s Defense Team Captain Kento Ibarra explained that these experiences help even the playing field for the club’s many first-generation student members like himself.

“I think a lot of us flock to this profession because we’re historically not even part of the legal conversation, much less well-represented in the field,” the senior Law and Justice major said. “We can be argumentative and aggressive in the courtroom, but it comes from a place of wanting to represent our communities and make lasting change for future generations.”

At the end of the invitational portion of this season, CWU’s Mock Trial Club had accumulated three victories and one tie, a strong result that has Claridge feeling optimistic about the team’s chances at regionals.

“Everything is building towards the regional championships, and speaking for myself, it’s the most confident I’ve ever felt,” he said. “We’ve got a great team, and our goal is to represent CWU on the national stage.”

Club membership carries a lot of benefits beyond the prestige won through competition. Students have the opportunity to take what they learn in the classroom and then immediately apply it to a real-world scenario, as well as formulate questions in the field that they can bring with them to class.

Law and Justice senior Ashely Reynolds sees serving as the club’s treasurer as a vital stepping stone as she continues her education.

“Being able to immediately apply what we learn in the classroom is a huge help on my path to law school,” she said. “That practical experience will let me get a running start once it’s time for grad school.”