Mock Trial Team Competes in Regional Tournament, Students Earn Awards

NSU’s Mock Trial Team, composed of nine legal studies undergraduate students in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, competed in the American Mock Trial Association Orlando Regional Tournament. The event was held at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Feb. 17–19. As part of the competition, the students acted as members of prosecution and defense teams in a mock DUI/murder trial. The tournament consisted of four rounds, with three students acting as lawyers and three serving as witnesses for the case during each round. Three students from the college won awards for their roles, including Kurt Hagen and Sasha Stabile for Outstanding Witness, and team captain Yineth Sanchez for Outstanding Lawyer. Twenty teams from universities throughout the state and country competed in the tournament, including 12 from Florida, as well as teams from Harvard University, Princeton University, and Furman University. Also competing for NSU were Michael Bogumill, Daniel Brookins, Lauren Fehnel, Yannette Guadalupe, Melinda Leary, and Alezka Urdaneta. Serving as faculty adviser and coach for the Mock Trial Team is Tim Dixon, J.D., associate professor and coordinator of history/politics in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. “I am impressed by the amount of time and effort the students put into the competition,” Dixon said after the tournament. “In addition to being full-time students, some members have jobs yet still spend evenings and Saturdays practicing. The team members spent hundreds of hours working on the trial scenario in order to represent NSU as a well-prepared unit, and their work paid off. The awards may have gone to individuals, but they represent the efforts of the entire team. The work done here in mock trial will continue to pay off in law school and in the future practice of law.”