DATES: Competition held January 25-February 23, 2008.
PLACE: IU Law School.
FORMAT: Students will try a case in teams of 2 against 2. Each student will be assigned to either the plaintiff's or the defendant's side of the case, and that assignment will not vary. Each student will conduct an opening statement, a closing argument, a direct examination (using the other team member as your witness), and one cross-examination. The competition will consist of three qualifying rounds, in which each person will try the case against randomly selected opponents, and receive scores based on their performances. The 4 top scoring students in each category (16 total students) will compete in a single elimination playoff tournament, seeded according to first round scores. You will advance or be eliminated as individuals, not teams.
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all 2-L and 3-L law students.
HOW TO REGISTER: You must sign up no later than noon January 17, 2008. You may sign up individually and be assigned a partner for the first two rounds, or you may sign up as a 2-person team. Sign up for the tournament by sending an email to tanford@indiana.edu with your name and email addresses. Prof. Tanford will email you back and assign you to represent either the Plaintiff or the Defendant. The reply email will be your confirmation that you are registered for the tournament, so contact Prof. Tanford if you do not receive a confirmation.
PREPARATION: 1) Download and read the tournament Rules . They contain the explanation for who prepares what parts of the trial.
2) Download the case file, http://www.justice.org/Networking/Tier3/LawStudents.aspx
3) If you have never had Trial Advocacy, you may download a copy of " Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Trial Procedure and Tactics ."
4) If you have never made an objection, you may download a copy of " Making and Meeting Objections ."
Round 1:
Friday, Jan. 25, 11:00.
Matthew Butcher & Henry Reaves (PL) vs. Jason Dennis & Michael McBride (DF)
Sat. Jan. 26, 10:00
Susan Castorina & Patrick Molen (PL) vs. Jeff Novota & Matt Roush
Sat. Jan. 26, 1:00
Jennifer Norton & Shalonda Guy (PL) vs. ____________
Round 2:
Thu. Feb. 7, 2:30
Butcher & Reaves v. Alissa Cohen & JD Lyons (Def)
Fri. Feb 8 at 9:00
Castorina & Molen v. Dennis & McBride
Fri. Feb 8 at 3:00
Norton & Guy vs. Novota & Roush
Round 3:
Thu Feb 14 at 10:00
Butcher & Reaves v. Novota & Roush
Thu Feb 14 at 2:00
Norton & Guy v. Dennis & McBride
Fri Feb 15 at 10:00
Castorina & Molen v. Cohen & Lyons
Championship rounds Thu/Fri Feb 21-22, times and pairings TBA