{"id":76941,"date":"2026-02-03T08:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=76941"},"modified":"2026-02-03T08:04:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:04:36","slug":"club-spotlight-mock-trial-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/club-spotlight-mock-trial-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Club Spotlight: Mock Trial Club"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What to know<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Who can\u00a0participate:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0All students, regardless of year, major and prior mock trial experience level<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Meeting days:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Mondays and Wednesdays<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Meeting time:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> 6-8 p.m<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\u25cf\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\u25cf&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Meeting location:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0SBS West Room 109<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">About the club<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Courtroom dramas are filled with misconceptions, but this student-run organization argues the thrill that comes from working on a case with a top-notch legal team is not one of them. Members of NAU\u2019s Mock Trial Club mix authentic evidence\u00a0know-how\u00a0with off-the-cuff improvisation to compete in simulated courtrooms as ace attorneys and character witnesses.\u00a0In the spring, they take their fine-tuned objections to national college contests featuring judges who are, well,\u00a0actually judges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Q&amp;A<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ryan Roberts\u00a0<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">is a senior majoring in civil engineering. After four years\u00a0in the mock trial program, he returned from recess as the organization\u2019s president in fall 2025. Read on to hear Roberts\u2019\u00a0testimony on how he got involved with the club, what goes into building a mock trial case and how NAU\u2019s program has clinched multiple competitions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Tell us about this club\u2019s history. How has it evolved over the years?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Mock Trial Club at NAU was formed\u00a0in 2018. To my understanding, our founder,\u00a0<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Sarah Frey<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, arrived at NAU and was shocked to find\u00a0we did not have a mock trial program. While I was unable to work with Sarah at NAU,\u00a0I\u00a0met\u00a0her the year before coming to NAU at a high school mock trial tournament in Tucson. She was volunteering her time as a judge at the tournament and encouraged me to join the program once I got to NAU.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In mock trial, competitors play the role of an attorney or a witness to argue a case against other programs in front of a judge in a courtroom. It requires a commendable amount of time, effort and willpower to not only read through the 200-word case packet, but to extensively analyze it to form a legal theory and then compete for an entire weekend against other programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-76950\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116.jpg\" alt=\"A group of 10 Mock Trial Club members pose for a flash photo at night around a park bench. \" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116.jpg 6000w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0116-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a>Furthermore, mock trial is a team activity, requiring the development of collaborative skills and a deep trust in one\u2019s fellow competitors.\u00a0I believe\u00a0mock\u00a0trial\u00a0is\u00a0one of the most challenging and rewarding activities\u00a0a college student can do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">NAU\u2019s\u00a0program is student-led, which is\u00a0abnormal for mock trial programs. Most are managed by attorney coaches due to the challenging nature of the activity. Being student-led, the members of the NAU program learn\u00a0the legal content,\u00a0train\u00a0new\u00a0members\u00a0and\u00a0prepare\u00a0for\u00a0competition all on their own. We are and have always been an underdog program full of the most dedicated and inspiring people I have ever met.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When I joined nearly four years ago, we had only 20 or so members and two competition teams. Now, we have five teams for fall invitational tournaments and four in the spring for regional tournaments, with our membership numbers approaching 50. Our program\u2019s on a steady upward trend, improving every year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We recently were ranked among the top quarter of teams in the nation when we placed third in the San Diego regional last year, and we solidified our competitive status when we performed well at the following Opening Round Championship Series in Los Angeles. Most recently, our members\u2019 competition scores have reached heights we have never seen before, and it wasn\u2019t just some of our members. It was all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What does Mock Trial Club do throughout the year, both at regular meetings and at any other events?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Early in the year, we focus on education. We don\u2019t expect people to come in and have experience. In fact, the majority of our members have no mock trial experience. We educate every Monday and Wednesday for the first three months. We teach about objections, the rules of evidence, courtroom procedure, how to build a case, how to play witnesses, how to examine witnesses and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">After that, we spend time working with our teams and doing scrimmages against ourselves. We bring in judges from the local community of attorneys to help us get feedback. Now, going into the second half of the year having already done that education part, we\u2019re really focusing on team time and scrimmaging. We\u2019re trying to get better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">At competitions, you never really know what you\u2019re going to get, so we encourage our members to try being both attorneys and witnesses. High school is different in that you are required to play both roles. With college, we get a lot of theater majors and a lot of people who purely care about the law. Some people only want to do one or the other, but we try to encourage people to do both because you really have to work with your teammates well and understand the whole process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What do you need to run a mock trial?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Every program throughout the country can get a case through AMTA. Cases include 200 pages of relevant facts, witness affidavits that we use to build our characters, evidence exhibits and descriptions of how the laws are supposed to work for this case. That is how we build it. We have to have a foundational understanding of the law and what we can and can\u2019t do in a trial. We take those facts, and we build a case. Then, we present it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">They\u2019re pretty accurate to real life. I\u2019ve interned at a law firm for the past two years, doing prisoners\u2019 rights cases. These are federal cases, and I\u2019ve had to use the same rules of evidence to argue them. If I hadn\u2019t done mock trial, I would have no idea what I am talking about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">How do invitational tournaments work? What has been your experience competing?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We don\u2019t do try-outs, especially for invitationals. We emphasize education and serving as an opportunity for everybody, hence having a president who is a civil engineering major and graphic design witnesses and all kinds of people who you would never expect to be on a mock trial team. If we have too many people for invites, the officers step back first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><a href=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-76952 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wordpresst\/uploads\/sites\/153\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197.jpg\" alt=\"Mock Trial Club members dressed in formal attire pose in front of a mural depicting the word &quot;justice.&quot;\" width=\"497\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197.jpg 4608w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/402\/2026\/02\/DSC_0197-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px\" \/><\/a>We send each team to one\u00a0invitational. This year, we went to the University of Arizona\u2019s tournament in Tucson, the Cactus Classic, and we also went to Arizona State University\u2019s Sundown Showdown in Phoenix.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0gone to both for the past three years. Starting last year,\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0also gone to winter\u00a0invitationals. We sent two teams to Denver, and this year,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0sending at least two to Las Vegas.\u00a0Maybe we\u2019ll\u00a0have the budget to send two more to Denver again, but even if people\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0attend invitationals or regionals, we try to\u00a0put on\u00a0end-of-year cases in Flagstaff.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0where we take old case packets and say, \u201cHave fun with it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Usually in mock trial, you have two judges per round: one who is actually running the courtroom and one who is scoring throughout the trial. I\u2019ve been in the training sessions and have served as a judge for summer tournaments. They have certain criteria that we teach about, but essentially, the judges get to decide how good an attorney or witness did on a scale from one to 10. Sometimes, those judges are mock trial alumni. They\u2019ve never been to law school, so the dramatic, fun experience is what they have to go off of. Then, you have career prosecutors and defense attorneys who are looking for a much more grounded thing. If you can\u2019t read the judge, sometimes you get really bad scores.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Last year, one judge said we won against the other team by about 30 points, which is a huge, unheard-of difference. The other judge, however, said\u00a0we\u00a0only\u00a0tied. You really never know, so you have to read your\u00a0judge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">What professional skills have you developed while\u00a0participating\u00a0in\u00a0Mock\u00a0Trial Club?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">It\u2019s\u00a0been helpful in any kind of legal internship.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0had a lot of members work in these kinds of internships and even make connections through mock trial and the people we bring in. I also used to be an\u00a0introverted, shy person back in early high school. When I finally decided to join, it really forced me out of my shell. It\u00a0helps with public speaking, critical thinking,\u00a0teamwork\u00a0and thinking on your feet.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Outside of competitions and practices, does Mock Trial Club host any other events?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We also\u00a0host\u00a0socials. Recently, we hosted our first pre-law mixer on campus in collaboration with Pi Alpha Delta and an upcoming club, Women in Law Club.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0done mock trial movie nights.\u00a0We\u2019ve\u00a0made mocktails\u2014because you\u00a0have to\u00a0take that low-hanging fruit. Overall, a lot of people in the club end up becoming\u00a0very close\u00a0friends. This is an activity where\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0working together with your team for a good amount of time.\u00a0You get close with them and, more often than not, you start hanging out regularly outside of meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Find out more about Mock Trial Club\u2019s upcoming events by following @lumberjackmocktrial on Instagram.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a class=\"search-results-excerpt-link\" href=\"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/club-spotlight-mock-trial-club\/\">What to know\u00a0 Who can\u00a0participate:\u00a0All students, regardless of year, major and prior mock trial experience level\u00a0 Meeting days:\u00a0Mondays and Wednesdays\u00a0 Meeting time: 6-8 p.m\u00a0 Meeting location:\u00a0SBS West Room 109 &nbsp; About the club Courtroom dramas are filled with misconceptions, but this student-run organization argues the thrill that comes from working on a case with a&hellip;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":76951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1825,1829],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-club-spotlight","category-student-edition"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}