News
Mock trial places 32nd in the nation
By Ryan Bloom ’18
May 1, 2015
“Where’s Hamilton?” is a question that the Mock Trial team members often hear at out-of-state tournaments. The 31st annual Mock Trial National Championship Tournament (NCT) in Cincinnati on April 16-19 was no exception. The team took 32nd in the tournament, placing them in the top five percent of about 660 teams nationwide. While in the past, teams polished cases that they had been preparing for several months, this year, teams were given an entirely new case and only three weeks to prepare it.
The NCT case, Ginger v. Heisman, was a case of election fraud. The plaintiff, Elizabeth Ginger, alleged that the incumbent mayor, Max Heisman, abused his power as mayor and spread misinformation in order to keep lower income families from voting. While most competitors agreed that it was clear that fraud was committed, the main issue was whether or not it could be connected to the mayor.
At first, Hamilton’s team worried that the new case would place them at a disadvantage against larger schools that had several teams and coaches to write material and develop case theories. UCLA, for instance, was the 2014 national champion. It had two teams competing this year and has five coaches. In contrast, Hamilton has one team that is entirely student-run. While there are certainly advantages and disadvantages to not having a coach or legal advisor, the team finds it is easier to make decisions democratically and to understand the material by talking through it rather than relying on outside help.
At the NCT, Hamilton competed against Vanderbilt University, the University of Maryland, Rhodes College and Stanford University. After a hard-fought battle against Vanderbilt, Hamilton lost the round 0-3. This was a rough start to the competition, but the team rallied for the next three rounds. Against the University of Maryland, Hamilton lost 1-3. From there, the team won 2-1 and 2-0-1 (the final ballot was a tie) against Rhodes and Stanford, respectively. With an overall record of 5-6-1, the team was close to placing in the top ten of its division (the minimum was six wins).
A highlight of the weekend for Hamilton’s team was Senior Ian Carradine’s All-American Witness award. The All-American award is the highest individual honor that the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) bestows on competitors. After four years of competing as a witness and earning over a dozen awards at other competitions, Carradine is proud to be Hamilton’s first All-American competitor. Carradine is well known in the mock trial world as an excellent character witness who can speak eloquently and convincingly in a variety of accents.
Co-Captain Maggie McGuire ’15 reflected on the Hamilton team’s performance, remarking, “I’m extremely proud of our team. This is the best season Hamilton has ever had.” This is true, not just because of the team’s performance at the NCT, but also because of its successes before nationals. Harvard was the national champion this year and only one team at the NCT had taken a ballot from Harvard. Before the NCT, there was only one other team to have done so the entire year: Hamilton. Members of Hamilton’s team are thrilled with their performance this the year and looking forward to next year’s season.
A final highlight of the tournament was meeting Justin Bernstein, the president of AMTA. When asked where the team was from, he instantly knew about Hamilton and the great successes the team has had this past season. He complimented them on their win against Harvard, and even remarked that he considered them as a runner up, since the team was one of only two to have taken a ballot from the national champion. So in future years, judges and other teams won’t ask “Where’s Hamilton?” anymore. Because, of all of the accomplishments this year, the greatest was becoming nationally recognized and respected as a top competitor.
The competing team members at the NCT were: Co-Captains Amber Groves ’15 and Maggie McGuire ’15, Ian Carradine ’15, Hunter Green ’16, Andrew Fischer ’17, Caroline Reppert ’17, Samantha Weckenman ’17, Ryan Bloom ’18 and Conor O’Shea ’18.