The Elon Mock Trial program will compete against 23 other teams from 16 universities in the American Mock Trial Association Cincinnati Regional Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at the Hamilton County Courthouse in Cincinnati, Ohio.
For the first time in Elon Mock Trial’s seven-year history, the program will field a third team during the association’s Regional Tournament season. Fresh off of Elon A and B’s tough losses at the Southeast Regional Tournament a few weeks ago, Elon’s third mock trial team will try to earn a bid to the Opening Round Championship Series. Elon’s team consists of seven students from all majors and departments. This will be the sixth tournament of the season.
While Elon A and B did not receive bids earlier in the month at Chapel Hill, members of the team were honored as outstanding attorneys and witnesses in the tournament. Specifically, senior and vice president Amanda Morrissey was honored for the second time this season as an outstanding attorney. Additionally, freshman Andrew Stevenson was honored for the first time in his mock trial career as an outstanding witness.
Among the teams in competition this weekend will be Miami University of Ohio, Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Tennessee.
Elon Mock Trial looks to carry forward the momentum from last year and earn a bid to the Championship Series for the second time in the team’s history. Elon Mock Trial has been competing in the association since 2003. The team has been preparing since the beginning of the academic year, meeting two and three times a week for more two hours at a time.
The team uses the same case all year. The case this year is a criminal conspiracy murder trial. Famed movie producer Jackie Owens has been accused of murdering his business partner, Jacob Bennett. The two along with a third partner, Casey Maxwell, collectively form the move production company of Trifecta Entertainment. After Jacob’s body was found buried at the Calkins Cliffs, CSI Jordan Lee conducted an investigation that led the State of Midlands to bring murder charges against Owens.
The Elon students who will be competing are:
Team 1613: Amelie Busch ’11, Sara Kaplan ’11, Amber Murphy ’11, Michael Nachajski ’11, Michael Gross ’12, Stephanie Petrich ’13 and Parker Tobin ’13.
The team is coached and accompanied by William Warihay, a 2007 Elon graduate and a third-year law student at Elon University School of Law and Dr. Eric Ashley Hairston, Director of the Center for Law and Humanities and the Pre-Law Department.
For more information, visit the Web site listed to the right of this page.