Ever wonder what it's like to deliver the closing argument in a murder trial? Or to take the witness stand and match wits with a high-powered attorney? That's what eight Yeshiva College and eight Stern College for Women students did this past January 27th, at an open mock trial tournament hosted by Yeshiva. Both schools battled national powerhouse NYU and the 10th ranked mock trial team in the nation, St. John's. When the dust had cleared, NYU had taken first place and Yeshiva College, in an astonishing upset, had defeated one of the best mock trial teams in the country for a second-place finish.
The case itself was interesting and exceptionally complex. A janitor hears a gunshot while cleaning the 30th floor of an office building and runs downstairs to alert the security guard. The security guard calls the police, and a detective arrives and goes to the 30th floor to investigate. He finds a man dead in his office, a hole in his head and a bullet in the wall.
Forensics identifies the man and collects pieces of evidence, including DNA. The police find that the security log for the building identifies who has been going in and out. They suspect the dead man's employee, and search his home. They find more evidence there, and bring the case to trial. The arrested man claims he was in a bar during the time of the murder, and the bartender corroborates the story, but the bar is run by the defendant's best friend. The defense argues the police investigation was tainted and incomplete. The Prosecution insists it was sound.
Who is telling the truth and who is lying? Which 3 witnesses would you call as prosecution, which as defense? What approach would you take to bring out the vital parts of his testimony in 8 minutes? Can those witnesses stand up to the withering cross-examination of an opposing attorney? Yeshiva lawyers and witnesses faced all these challenges (and many more) as the trial dates approached. One thing was certain: the teams they were to face would be well-prepared and extremely knowledgeable, both on the law and the case materials, which, between sworn affidavits and other pieces of evidence, such as psychologists' and forensics reports, stretched into the hundreds of pages.
St. John's lived up to its stellar reputation for preparedness and efficiency. "It was amazing!" said one team member, describing their performance, "They had every word of every question and answer memorized; we were still changing things on the van ride over! They had two coaches with matching sweaters reading 'St. John's Mock trial.' We don't even have a coach! The sum total of our legal knowledge comes from con-law class and watching Law and Order." Despite the obvious organizational superiority of the St. John's team, Yeshiva scored a clear victory in court, performing higher than St. John's on both judges' ballots.
How did Yeshiva manage a win against a national powerhouse despite their limited training? "We are legally autodidactic," explained team captain Hillel Deutsch, "but our analytical and forensic skills make up for what we lack in terms of formal coaching. St. John's simply didn't see some of our questions coming, and our witnesses did an incredible job, especially when under some tough cross questions."
Yeshiva's second-place finish was cemented by superb performances by lawyer Robert Weissbrot and witness Alec Fisch, who won honorable mentions for their efforts, lawyer Hillel Deutsch, who won fourth place in the attorney category, and Uri Herzberg, whose remarkable performances earned him second place in the witness' category.
Although both Yeshiva's and Stern's teams will be unable to compete in this years' regional and national tournaments, which all take place over Shabbos, several AMTA representatives have voiced a desire to ensure that for next year, Yeshiva's scheduling needs will be met, and the respective teams will have an opportunity to compete on a national level.
If you are interested in trying out for next years' team, please contact captain Hillel Deutsch at hdeutsch@ymail.yu.edu .